Flip This House


Flip This House is an American television series that airs on the A&E television network as well as the Bio network. Each episode spotlights the purchase and renovation of a single unit. All episodes included listing the price of the purchase, the cost of renovation, and the market value of the "flipped" property.

Series overview

Season one

In season one, the series followed the activities surrounding the Charleston-based Trademark Properties, founded by Richard C. Davis.
;Charleston Team
Due to a contractual disagreement Trademark decided not to return for season two of the show. Davis created the show in 2003, took it to A&E to partner, and claims that he has yet to receive any payment. In July 2006, Trademark Properties filed a lawsuit against A&E alleging breach of contract and fraud. Davis was awarded $4 million by the jury in the case, an amount equal to more than half of the profit generated by the first season of the show. The A&E network responded through its spokesman, Michael Feeney, by saying, "We are deeply disappointed in the jury's decision, and we will follow the appropriate steps to have the verdict reversed."
Davis signed a series deal with TLC, and the new series, originally titled The Real Deal and now named The Real Estate Pros, began airing April 21, 2007.

Season two

In season two, the show was recast with a team from San Antonio, and another from Atlanta.
;San Antonio Team
;Atlanta Team
In May 2007, television station WAGA in Atlanta exposed the Season Two episodes starring local developer Sam Leccima to be staged and fraudulent. This same report also revealed that Leccima has been the subject of numerous legal actions stemming from fraudulent real estate solicitations, some of which were related to his activity on the show. A&E has denied any knowledge of Leccima's activities and has stopped producing episodes. These episodes are no longer aired.

Season three

In season three, a new team from New Haven was introduced. Additionally, the team from Atlanta recast with a new group of people. Only the Montelongo team from San Antonio continued their roles from the prior season.
;New Haven Team
;Atlanta Team
Note: the Atlanta cast has changed since last season.
;San Antonio Team
In season four, a new team from Los Angeles was introduced. Additionally, the team from Atlanta was recast again keeping only Brian Trow and Peter Pasternack from Season 3.
;New Haven Team
;Atlanta Team
Note: the Atlanta cast has changed since last season.
;San Antonio Team
;Los Angeles Team
;New Haven Team
;Atlanta Team
;San Antonio Team
;Los Angeles Team

Season one

In 2007, Flip This House was the subject of a breach of contract and fraud lawsuit brought by Trademark Properties, a South Carolina real estate company that starred in the show's first season.
In the several million dollar civil lawsuit, Flip This Houses original executive producer and star, Richard C. Davis, charged A&E and the show's Departure Films production company with breach of contract, fraud, and seven other charges. In the lawsuit Davis claimed to have not received any financial compensation from A&E or Departure for Flip This Houses first season and alleged that they had actually created the show themselves, but they called it Worst To First. He claimed that he pitched the show to A&E, which later agreed to produce and televise 13 episodes of the series. Davis alleged that A&E agreed that although A&E would pay all the show's production costs, the parties would be 50/50 partners in any profits generated from the project and agreed to prepare a written agreement stating such. Instead, according to Davis, A&E aired the program, using his likeness without his permission, and changing the name of the show from Worst to First to Flip This House so as not to arouse suspicion that they were going to use the show concept and had no intention of ever paying Davis for the use of his show title and show concept.
According to Davis, the network allegedly never provided an agreement that reflected the terms of their alleged verbal agreement throughout the entire period of Flip This House's first-season production. According to Davis, "A&E defrauded and misappropriated and stole the project for A&E's own use and benefit, and merely changed the name so as not to have to pay for the show concept." Allegedly it wasn't until around March 2006 that Davis learned that A&E had decided to produce and air another season of Flip this House without using his services.
A&E claimed that they provided Davis with "powerful" free advertising for his company, "Trademark". A&E also alleged that it only moved forward with a second season after Davis announced that he was launching a new reality show with the TLC cable television network.
The case was resolved by a jury and Davis was awarded $4 million, an amount equal to half of the profits from the first season of Flip This House. A&E has promised to appeal the decision. The Real Estate Pros, first aired under the title The Real Deal, starring Davis and the rest of his staff at Trademark Properties premiered on TLC cable television network on April 21, 2007. From June 2008, The Real Estate Pros was on hiatus and was not airing. As of January 2009, new episodes of Real Estate Pros were in production, but have never been aired as of November 2009.

Season two

Sam Leccima is an Atlanta businessman who served as one of the show's second season stars. His "Leccima Real Estate Company" was one of two real estate firms that the show's second season followed.
According to a two-part television news report broadcast by Atlanta's Fox affiliate WAGA-TV in May 2007, Mr. Leccima didn't own the houses he claimed to have sold on Flip This House and also staged some of the renovations depicted on the show.
WAGA also reported that Mr. Leccima didn't possess a real estate license when Flip This House was filming prior to the series's second-season premiere, claiming that Mr. Leccima "does not bear a good reputation for honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, and competence."
According to WAGA, he even staged at least one fake open house in which some of his friends posed as buyers for the home. In addition, he even claimed to sell another home that he didn't own.
A&E announced that it was pulling Leccima's Flip This House episodes off its broadcast schedule and denied any knowledge or part in the frauds shown on their airways.
From on the A&E web site on July 1, 2007: "We are dismayed to learn of these allegations. A&E Television Networks is not a party to any of the transactions shown in Flip This House and has not received any formal complaints about the properties or sales. Based on these allegations, A&E is taking all episodes featuring Mr. Leccima off the air pending further investigation of the claims. After the second season of Flip This House, A&E decided to change direction and focus on different cast members, as we did after the first season when another controversial situation happened, and we no longer work with Mr. Leccima or Trademark Properties."
Mr. Leccima has suggested that A&E and Flip This Houses production company knew what was going on.
"Ask anybody who works in television how a reality show is made and you'll find that ours was a very typical approach", Leccima told The AP.