Renovating homes for a living would be an absolute dream for me. I mean, how cool would it be to take a "flop" of a home, completely customize it, and turn it into another person's paradise (in front of a national audience, on top of that)? I always wonder how the stars of HGTV shows got their start — and the stars of HGTV's newest Flip or Flop spinoff, Ken and Anita Corsini of Flip or Flop Atlanta, are no exception. Seriously, how were Ken and Anita Corsini discovered? And can I be next?
Before I can be discovered, I might need to actually start flipping houses like the Corsinis themselves. While they flip homes for a living now, neither Ken or Anita began their career in real estate. Ken "worked in the corporate world" before starting his own real estate business in 2005 and getting his general contracting license shortly after. Anita meanwhile, was a math teacher. While the couple was expecting their first child, according to HGTV, Ken asked Anita to get her real estate license, leave teaching and "join him in the business." What came out of the career change for Anita was the birth of the family business, Red Barn Homes, and eventually, their own show on HGTV.
Together, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, they have flipped more than 600 homes over the past 12 years in the Atlanta area. Impressive.
It could have been these numbers (or their impressive portfolio) that led HGTV to finding the Corsinis and asking them to host Flip or Flop Atlanta. Whatever led the network to the couple was truly unexpected for Anita. As she told My Home Improvement Atlanta:
A TV show was never on our radar. We'd been buying, renovating, and selling about 100 houses a year for over a decade. Then HGTV called us out of the blue about hosting a show. We didn't take it too seriously. We giggle when we look back because we scheduled a Skype interview with them and I forgot about it and went to the gym. When I got home, completely gross and sweaty, I realized the interview would be in five minutes. I thought, "Well they're definitely going to get the real me!"
Ken's take on the story is just as entertaining. Last year, Ken appeared on the podcast Real Estate Investing Profits and discussed getting discovered by HGTV:
I get a random call from a casting director saying "Hey, we're looking to put together a show, a flipping show, with a husband and wife for HGTV. Are you interested?" And on a whim, I'm like "Yeah, whatever, sure." So we jump on a Skype call, me and my wife, they record it, they button it up, they send it to HGTV, and they loved it. The next thing you know, they're putting together a sizzle reel, and we didn't know what a sizzle reel was at the time.
The sizzle reel led to a pilot episode for a show called Flipping the South, which aired on HGTV last May. The pilot episode must have been a success because less than one year later, HGTV announced that Ken and Anita would return to HGTV for the new series, Flip or Flop Atlanta, which follows them for 13 episodes as they flip homes in the Atlanta area.
There you have it. Renovate 100 or so gorgeous homes a year, and one day, casting directors for HGTV might be calling your phone and asking if you want to host a show. Or, you know, just sit back and enjoy Ken and Anita Corsini's adventures from the comfort of your non-flipped home — whatever works for you.
