A new house flipping show produced by Republic Real Estate is putting an original spin on a model made famous by predecessors such as “Flipping Out,” “Property Brothers” and “Flip This House.”
American Dreamhouse airs online in bite-size video clips shown on YouTube and Instagram. Viewers can use the Republic crowdfunding platform to invest and participate in the potential profit from the house flips. Republic has more than 800,000 users, providing the show with a sizable pool of potential investors.
According to Janine Yorio, the show’s producer and the head of real estate at Republic, American Dreamhouse is the first such show to allow give audiences that level of participatory access.
Yorio said that the concept for the show emerged from the intersection of the popularity of fix-and-flip shows, interior design and audience interest in finding novel ways to generate extra income.
“American Dreamhouse is the perfect marriage of these three obsessions,” Yorio said. “We wanted to create something that we knew our users would love and be engaged with. It’s one thing to passively watch a before-and-after home renovation show, it’s another to be invested in the project and feel like you’re along for the ride.”
The first American Dreamhouse series is being shot in Los Angeles. Future shows are planned for Atlanta, Dallas and Nashville. The show will follow a different house flipper in each city.
The focus in Los Angeles is on a home in the up-and-coming Westchester neighborhood led by experienced house flipper Megan Blu. According to Yorio, Blu has flipped 15 houses and knows Westchester well. Blu’s track record, work ethic and aesthetic sensibilities made her a logical choice to be the show’s first flipper.
Yorio hopes viewers make a return on their investments while being entertained and learning some of the ins-and-outs of flipping a house. While house flipping shows have grown increasingly popular over the years, actual access to those opportunities was limited before American Dreamhouse, she said. Now, viewers can participate in a house flip without spending big money and shedding blood, sweat and tears.
“While real estate is an old school business, our vision is to reimagine it for today’s investor,” she said. “People want to be entertained, they want to feel involved and, of course, they crave content. American Dreamhouse isn’t just an investment, it’s an experience, and we hope that people learn what really goes on behind the scenes of a house flip. Most house flipping shows are unrealistic and glammed up. American Dreamhouse gives viewers and investors a real look into what really goes into renovating a home and the hard work required to make a return on investment.”