Realty411 Magazine The Future of Real Estate is Here | Page 75

Flip Flop? or Meet Reality TV’s Favorite Real Estate Couple, Tarek & Christina El Moussa by Stephanie B. Mojica T he hit reality show “Flip or Flop” has not only changed Tarek El Moussa’s life, it literally saved it. “2013 was a life-changing year,” El Moussa said. He and his wife Christina are prolific real estate “flippers” and host a related reality show on HGTV. One of his view- ers — a registered nurse — noticed a lump on El Moussa’s neck, which turned out to be thyroid cancer. Fortunately it did not spread beyond his neck and he considers himself to be well on the road to recovery. “The worst part was the radioactive iodine treatment where I was confined away from my family,” El Moussa said. “Today I feel better, my energy is lower, but I won’t let that slow me down. I will keep chasing my dreams.” At age 32, El Moussa never expected to host a popular television show and battle cancer. It’s a drastically different lifestyle from seven years ago when their brokerage business dried up as a result of the market shakeup, forcing them to reinvent themselves. In 2010, they took a huge gamble and started flipping homes. “We went from selling to flipping,” he recalled. At first, the couple was forced to significantly downscale their lifestyle, trading in a $6,000 a month mortgage for a $700 a month > Realty411Guide.com PAGE 75 • 2014 reWEALTHmag.com