All language subtitles for Backed.by.the.Bros.S01E09.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH[EZTVx.to]_English (SDH) [English] (SUBRIP)

[Drew] Last time on
Backed by the Bros...

-Nice to meet you. Drew.
-I'm John.

[Jonathan]John bought this $1.35
million property in cash.

We want to back you.

Oh, my God. This is like
a dream come true.

[Drew]I see a little bit of us

back when we were
21 years old in him.

How much would you spend
to fix it up?

150 grand.
So I'm all in 1.5 million.

That's a lot just
to make it inhabitable.

He doesn't know
his whole scope of work.

This looks brand-new.

[John] That was
mistakenly placed there.

-We're gonna get rid of this.
-What?

This is several thousand
dollars of concrete work.

This is not a home-run
investment property.

[John] If this renovation
goes wrong,

I stand to lose
everything that I have.

[Jonathan] I am putting it
out there as a warning,

I think he's
the type of person

who's gonna throw extra things
on and try and overspend.

[Lee laughs]

-How you doing?
-[John] There he is.

-This is your spot.
You never leave the kitchen.
-How's it goin'?

-[Jonathan]
Hey, good to see you.
-[John] Nice to meet you.

[Drew]
So, we dug into the numbers.

We wanted to make sure we were
comfortable backing you.

We know you were hoping
to come in around
$400,000 for your budget.

It's gonna be
closer to $480,000

to renovate the main house
plus the garage flex space

to make this a viable
luxury short-term rental.

-Okay.
-On our end,

We can offer you project
management from Orr here

and design support from Lee
for a total of 16 weeks.

I'm telling you this
right now,

the challenge will be
keeping you on budget

if you want to actually profit
from this reno.

-Okay. Incredible.
-Does that make sense?

I wanted to ask
about the front door.

What if we extended
a deck across

and moved the front entrance
to the far side?

My end goal is

can we open up the entire
back side of the house

so that we have
as much glass as possible?

I think that
makes sense to do.

I want four bedrooms
on the ground floor

and then three up top.

And that would allow space
for a large living room,

dining, kitchen.

[Jonathan] Yes.
But here's a better idea.

If we were going to
do some kind of a bump-out
on the back,

if we bumped that out here,

and then imagine
all of this being glass

across the backside here,

you get all of the bedrooms
that you need on this level.

My concern is
if you're still gunning
to add a second story,

well, then what happens
to all the work

that we're doing now
on the main floor?

-[John] Mm-hmm.
-I think the numbers work

without having to add
the second story.

[Drew] Adding new footings
and structure
can be extremely expensive.

Our plan is you would just
have the single story

with the garage converted.

You wouldn't
have the second level.

You don't have to go up.

You're making
enough money here,

and you can
leverage this property

to get into other properties.

Make that money off
of other properties

that have more potential.

If we're not doing work now
to improve this,

um, I'm willing to spend
the extra money up front

on all the
infrastructure we need

to support that second story
in the future

and remove and destroy some of
the stuff that we built

a couple years down the line.

I understand
what you're saying.

I don't think you hear
what I'm saying.

I'm saying we do some work
to improve this right now.

Turn this into a two-bedroom,
two-bath within here

because that's going to
give you far better rent

than what you could possibly--

Right now, you're gonna
maybe get 4,500 bucks.

-Yeah.
-What we're
talking about doing

is going to get you
over $10,000 in here.

Plus what we're talking
about over here,

you're gonna be getting
about $15,000.

Remember, this is prime
Venice by the beach,

and you can attract
higher-end renters here.

Sure, a second story
could be great,

but that'll just add time
and cost to your project.

Yeah, it's not as clear-cut
and, like,

"Oh, let's just
build a second story."

That also is gonna take
a lot of time

and ripping apart
a lot of things

that you've already completed.

Can we all agree

that if we can bump out,
we should do that?

[all agreeing]

[Drew] That alone allows us
to start to draw floor plans.

[Lee] Yeah. That bump-out
gives you more flexibility.

We could turn this
into a gorgeous suite.

Another bathroom in here.

[John]I'd like it to double as both

a living
and entertainment area

as well as a flex space.

[Lee] You can have
a small refrigerator.

It elevates entertaining
for sure.

-[Drew] Yeah.
-[John] You guys really think

that's something that will
add more value?

[Lee] I think it would.

If we're not doing
the second story addition,

right now, the only way
to get you to that sweet spot

where you're
maximizing your return

is to do a two-bedroom
two-bathroom main house reno,

extra flex space in the garage

and a beautiful outdoor space.

[Drew] Your money would be
better spent.

The value added, you could get
into a whole other property.

And at the end,
you're going to net out

better than you would
with this house
and a second story.

That make sense. Yeah.

You've already wasted
$150,000.

Let's not waste another penny,
right?

-Okay.
-[Jonathan] If you want
to add value in this space,

I think it's about
creating zones.

-Yeah, I agree.
-We could create
an outdoor dining space.

I like the idea of doing,
you know,

a water feature,
a hot tub back in that corner

because you can
make it a little more private.

[Jonathan] I like that idea of
the water and the hot tub.

[Drew] 'Cause a lounging area,

that's going to get you
a premium for rent, right?

[John] Mmm-hmm. Absolutely.
I think you guys have
a great plan.

And I think you guys
see the vision.

[Drew] We are here to back
you, to support you,

but you are
the leader of this project.

-But this is gonna be great.
-This is gonna be good.

Congrats on the property.

-Thank you so much.
-[Lee] Thank you so much.

Bye, guys.

[Jonathan] All right.
See you later.

[John] Today is a huge day.

Today is the first day
of this project.

I've just been super-excited
to take a big step

towards making
my dream investment.

I'm digging
into the home myself

and doing some demo
on the wall.

You know, it was
a little bit bittersweet

to see all of my...

what I thought
was, you know, amazing

just get messed up.

But it's a first step
towards a blank slate.

And it's going
to make things better.

[Drew] This is one of the more
ambitious projects
that we've ever backed,

and it is going
to take longer than most.

It's been two weeks just
to get the demo finished
for both buildings,

as well as dig the trench for
the footings for the addition.

The addition will add square
footage to the main house,

which means John can
charge more rent.

[John] Oh, my goodness,
you guys are hard at work.

So, basically,
this is all of your addition.

This is what
we're excavating for.

[John] Okay.
It all looks great.

But I do have some concerns
with the project.

-Okay?
-What would we need to do

to set things up so
that I can add a second story

if I wanted to down the line?

"To set up
for a second story."

Is that something
you've run by the brothers?

The last time
we talked about it,

they advised against it.

No, it's not.
But I'd like to, you know,

build whatever infrastructure
we need to do now

to have that option open
for the future.

I think they'd understand the
bump in revenue is so high

that there's a huge ROI on it.

I mean, look, the conversation

that you're going to have
to have with them

is timeline
and then budget, right?

Because we didn't
we didn't account for this.

So, um, I mean,

that's going to take
different foundation work.

Because, as of right now
what we have approved,

is for just
the one-story addition.

If you did want to build
a second story,

we'd have to go through
planning with an engineer.

-Mmm-hmm.
-Make sure that we bolster
everything up

a little bit more.

-Mmm-hmm.
-Um...

He's probably gonna require

steel incorporated
into the framing.

And then steel posts
and whatever

in order to hold
the second story up.

I would probably say we're
in the ballpark range

of like $30,000.

Yeah, I mean,
I'll come up with the money.

I'll-- I'll dig
into my savings.

And how would
that affect our timeline?

That's another thing to take
into consideration, right?

I would say probably
around three weeks

of added timeline to
this project.

I mean, are you okay
with waiting

that amount of time?

I am. I mean, you know, I want
to own this home for decades.

So a few weeks
isn't gonna matter much.

-Okay.
-Let's just try to, you know,
iron out the details

-and see how it all works out.
-You got it.

[John] At the end of the day,

regardless of
what the brothers tell me

for setting this house up
to add a second story,

it's something I want to do.
So I'm gonna go for it.

[John]
We've been digging out here,

getting things ready for
the addition.

Great, great, great.

I like this. This looks good.

You guys must be ready
to form and inspect them for--

What the heck
is going on in here?

Holy smokes!

Did you guys come across
a problem or something?

-Or what's-- what's...
-[John] New details.

Oh, no. No, you didn't.
Did you?

I want to put
a second story on it.

[groans] Ah, I thought
we talked about that.

What was the hit on this?

[Orr]
I had estimated 30 grand,

but this ended up costing us
40 grand.

[John] I mean,
it's a small lot,

so if I want
to add more capacity,

the only way to go is up.

In Venice,
the price per foot is so high

that adding another 800
or so square feet on top,

even if it doesn't bump
the rent that much,

it adds a tremendous
amount of value

in terms of equity.

If you're committing to this,

does that mean in
the finished space down here,

are you going to get
some rental income on it

over the period of time while
you're waiting for the...

Yeah, exactly. I'll probably
run it for a year or two

while I wait for
the permit approval.

What's going through
your mind?

This probably added, like,

I would say
three weeks to a month.

Oh, my gosh. Okay.

I mean, to think that we're
just gonna remove a wall,

and then you're going to,
you know,

add the second story...

is-- it's much tougher
than that.

I mean, look at the damage
we've done just in doing this.

You'll have your footings,
your foundation,

your framing ready,

but you're still gonna
have to open up a lot.

You're almost gonna have to
redo your whole first floor.

[Jonathan] He's spending
a lot of money for footings

that are sitting there
doing nothing

for a couple of years,

while he gets permits
for a second story.

How much more is that gonna
get you for rental income?

Zero.

Is there anything else
that has been added

other than this? Or is this...

[John] On the north side wall,
we want to put a slider

and then put
like a waterfall behind it,

so that we can have some,
you know, running water--

-[laughs]
What are you talking about?
-...for people to listen to.

-A waterfall?
-Yeah. I want to make it Zen.

-You gotta show me this.
-I'll show you.

I have know idea
what you're talking about.

So this is where we're talking
kitchen, open area,

entertaining space.

You're saying here
on this wall?

[John] Yeah.
I want to put a slider here
and just, you know,

drop a nice Zen waterfall
right behind it.

A slider with a Zen waterfall.

This is--
I was not expecting that.

-[laughs]
-I mean, the way
I'm thinking about this

is that, you know,
it's a short-term rental,

and so the most important
thing is, you know,

stopping the scroll

when people are looking
through websites

to book something.

So I want something that
really, really
catches people's eye.

I think the waterfall
is well worth

5 grand or 10 grand,
or whatever it is.

Oof.

Hey, or--
you know what you should do

is before you go
spending a ton of money,

let's wait and see
if anything else comes up

as we get
these footings poured
and we start to frame out

just so we can figure out

do we need to save?

The real focus is gonna be
looking back this way.

Yeah. I know we were
originally thinking about

likely doing bifolds
out to the backyard.

But I'm thinking that sliders
are probably a better option.

It just lets you see
a lot more of it.

Because part of
the big sell is going to be

all the cool stuff
that's in the backyard.

Have you priced it yet?

It's going to be more. But...

If you're spending
and spending and spending now,

I'm already warning you,

you're going to hit a point
where you're like,

"Oh, no.
I overspent early on."

You always need to be looking

for little opportunities
to save money.

That's the only way
to maintain a healthy return.

Let's get Lee back in
the conversation,

because I feel like
she might have some input.

I feel that John
is a bit of a loose cannon

because it'll just be
in one ear, out the other,

and he'll keep doing
what he's doing.

Hopefully, he'll take
a little bit of our advice

and save himself
some headache.

Another change order.

And even new costs
are being added on to this.

[Jonathan] Every new
change order that comes in

makes me question
more and more

did we back
the right investor?

You didn't tell me
about Mr. Moneybags.

I'm like this. Reel it in.

Anyway. Okay. I want
to know about this space.

Has anything been added
or changed? What's the plan?

Yeah, we're trying to make it,
you know,

as livable as possible.

You still want to have
doors that open up?

Yeah. We want to do
a big slider here

and then probably
a main door on the side.

I want it to be more visible,
you know,

when you're looking out.

Um, and then
I also just want to keep
the theme going of sliders

that we're doing in
the primary home as well.

Right. So what's the plan
for the ceiling height?

Because right now,
with a little bit more work,

you could take it
all the way up to that height

and keep it at that height.

Is there any way to
potentially like flatten it,
you think?

So we could put like
a little second rooftop deck

up there, or something.

-Oh, my God.
-[all laughing]

Are you effing with me?

Maybe down the road it is.

Stop spending on things that
you're just gonna have to
rip back out.

He's got these lofty ideas.

I like this guy,

but I want
to strangle this guy.

Right now,
when everything is open,

this is the time to
do the things

that we know
we're going to do.

[John] My goal with this
is to make it like

the best stay in Venice.

So I feel like, you know,
there's no way I lose money

making the best product.

[Jonathan] Ay, ay, ay.

Just make a decision on
a lot of this stuff

so we can move in a direction.

And, like, for
the love of all... [laughs]

Let's not plan
on putting anything in

that we're gonna rip back out.

-It's a waste of your money.
-Yeah.

All right.
I'll see you guys later.

[John] Thank you, Jonathan.

I'm gonna see if I can get a
couple vendors that can help,
at least,

-with like the sliding
doors and stuff like that.
-Yeah.

But, uh, like, I'm starting to
actually have second thoughts

about whether or not we should
have backed this project.

-But... Anyway,
you're my eyes and ears.
-Okay. You got it.

All of my fears have
been realized.

We all looked
at the same plans.

We approved it.
John approved it.

And now he's changing it.

I've never seen this before.

John is just spending.

The end goal is not
to just do something

that creates an incredible
experience, and that's that.

The end goal
is to build a business.

I mean, you know what?

It might be one of those
tough love things

where he's gonna learn
the hard way,

because he
just doesn't listen.

Are we able to have
a large glass slider

in place of a garage door
on this side of the garage?

[Orr] So another change?

John is aware
and unaware of our timeline.

Like, he's aware,
but he kind of doesn't care.

The glass garage door
is gonna come on time...

I hope.

I see him as more of you
when you were younger

than he is of me
when I was younger,

-because you were--
-Because I was good at
faking it before I make it?

You would fake it
till you make it,

but you were also
a little more ego-driven.

I want him to succeed,

but, I mean, he's got
a lot of learning to do

if this is going to actually
become a good investment.

[John] I need the brothers

because they
have the potential

to add a ton of value
to this project

and save me a ton of time,
a ton of resources,

and to set a really positive
trajectory for this project.

[Orr]
Hey, John, how you doing?

It looks like you
blew up half my house.

Yeah, right?
Took off half of it.

[John] Although we have
maybe different mentalities

on how much
to spend on certain things,

I have a very clear vision

of making a really incredible
experience for guests.

And so, I need to push back
on their feedback

and move forward with
the things that
I think are important.

[Lee] I have some stuff
over here to look at.

-[John] Let's do it.
-For the kitchen cabinets,

these are just like some
white oak samples that I had.

We can go darker if you want.

But like this is almost like
a white oak or birch.

[John] Okay.

So this is an option
for the flooring.

-[John] Mmm-hmm.
-And this is a LVP product.

It's waterproof.

It's really good for rentals.

Um, you know, durability.
Excellent.

I really like this one.

Yeah, it's really good.

And then these are--

I just wanted
to give you a variety.

But these are
engineered flooring.

It's super-durable as well.

[John] Okay, I definitely
like the lighter color.

Okay. So if we want to use
LVP as our base,

then I would go a little bit
darker on the cabinets.

And not go so...

You know,
I wouldn't go so light.

-Mmm-hmm.
-Because then you can really
get the different levels.

[John] Okay.

The countertops, this is a
new product that's coming out.

It's a printed surface.

But then there's a clear
coat on top of this

that makes it waterproof,
stain resistant,

and it does make it look
like natural stone.

Amazing.

I'm not a big fan
of the brown or the gold.

-Okay.
-The lighter one right there
in the top left...

[Lee] With the less veining.

[John] Yeah. I think that one
just looks like the cleanest.

-Okay.
-Um, I think that with
this LVP flooring...

-Mmm-hmm?
-...those are like
some of the big items

-that I really like.
-I got it.

[John] The one thing
I'm definitely realizing is

design is this ongoing, fluid,
ever-changing process.

And talking to Lee,

she definitely
sees things that I don't

and brings a lot of super
creative ideas to the table.

You know, I love that people
are gonna be able to walk in
through the front

and then, you know, see all
the way down to the garage.

So, are we able to
potentially do, you know,

kind of similar
to how we have a slider

on that side of the garage?

Also have maybe
like a large glass slider

in place of a garage door
on this side of the garage.

That way, when you walk in,

you can see
from the front of the home

all the way to
the back of the property

and through the garage.

[Orr] So another change.

[Lee]John wants to do so much,

and he is aware
and unaware of our timeline.

Like he's aware,
but he kind of doesn't care.

So it's a recipe for disaster,
really.

So, basically,
it's gonna be framed

-a 16-foot opening?
-Correct. Yes.

The thing with that is
we'd have to now

get a custom-made sliding
glass door that's 16 feet.

Mmm-hmm. I'd say maybe if
it's under 12 to 15 grand,

it's worth doing,
and I'd like to do it.

Yeah. I mean, for me,

it's adding more work.

You know, that's what's
gonna push us back.

So it's gonna
delay the project.

I know.
We absolutely cannot push.

My team can't stay on longer
than what we have allocated

for this project and timeline.

So if you're serious
about this slider,

then we need
to find someone to do it

within the next three weeks
to stay on schedule.

If it's even a week later,
we can't do it.

Let's flash back
to the mid-'90s,

when we did our first project.

We were John. Like, we did
exactly what he did.

We put so much money into that

that at the end of the day,
we didn't make any money.

We overspent.

So I get
where he's coming from.

He's going to learn
by mistakes.

But hopefully we can save him

the most costly
of those mistakes.

If we could go back
and tell ourselves, "Warning.

Don't do this.
You're overspending."

Would we have listened?

I don't know
if we would have listened.

To be honest, I don't know.

[John] I'm really excited
to put a big glass slider

instead of
a traditional garage door.

I completely believe
that spending a premium
on certain things

is going to earn a return.

And I think that sliders are
the obvious choice

to put in
as doors in this home.

You know, when
you walk in the front door,

you're gonna be able to
look all the way

to the back of the property
through the sliders.

And given how constrained
we are with space,

I think anything we can do

to expand the feeling
of largeness and openness

is something
that's worth pursuing.

[Jonathan] This job was
supposed to take 16 weeks.

Based on what I'm hearing,

I'd be shocked
if we make that.

[John] Today
I'm gonna check in with oar

on everything
that he's working on

and iron out some stuff
that we're trying to solve.

[laughs]

-Wow, Orr.
-[Orr] What's up, man?

How are you doing?

Those are the biggest doors
and windows I've ever seen.

-[laughs] Yeah.
-Wow.

[Orr] It wasn't easy
to get them in,

but it makes a big difference,
right?

[John] It's gorgeous.

[Orr]The inside-outside feeling

that you're gonna be getting
is a lot better.

So, yeah, we're moving.

We got guys working
on drywall,

soffits.

We've passed pretty much
all inspections,

so we're pretty much
locked and loaded here.

But let's head over to an area
that's not as finished

and is holding us up.

So we spoke before,
and I said,

As long as this door gets here
at the same time as these,

I'd be good on timeline.

I'm not. I'm stuck now,
just waiting for this door,

which I didn't want to happen.

And, uh, now it kind of like
pushes everything back.

Do you know what's going on?

It wasn't something stock.

So it's something that needed
a lot of customization.

And it took them
a bit longer than expected,

but this will be here
early next week.

Early next week. Okay.

This is stuck, and I need to
start closing up walls.

The most I can wait
is maybe, max,

another five days.

I'm gonna get on the phone.
I'm gonna make some calls.

-I'm gonna try to push people
as hard as I can.
-You want me on those calls?

-Do you need me to--
-I can take care of it.

-I can take care of it.
-All right.

You know, I was probably
being overly optimistic

with him previously,

but the glass garage door
is gonna come on time.

I hope.

I looked at some of
the higher-end rentals
in this area

and I was thinking more
about the driveway.

You know,
if we were to do all concrete,

it still feels like
it's primarily for cars.

So would we
be able to modify it

to something more like
a rectangular strip

with turf in between.

I feel like it would make it
a little bit more...

you know, part of the backyard
and the entire property.

[Orr]You want to be able to see
a little bit of greenery?

[John] Exactly.

Um, I mean,

it was just going to be
the single pour here,

and we were good.

Now we're gonna have
to add the turf

and take
that into consideration,

which kind of deviates
from the plan. Um...

It's something I want to do.

-Okay. Yep.
-So let's do it.

[John] I'm definitely throwing
a lot of changes at the team.

Yes, I'm spending more money.

But the return
will make up for that.

If this renovation goes wrong,

I stand to lose all of
the energy

and immense effort
and sacrifice

that I've made
over the last decade plus.

-[Jonathan on phone] Hello.
-[Drew] Hey, how you doing?

You got a minute to chat?

[laughs] Yeah.
Is this about John?

Who else would it be about?
[laughs]

I was talking to Orr,

and he's stressed.

Both him and Lee are stressed.

Every two seconds,
John is changing something.

There are
13 new change orders,

and that alone
is about $50,000 to $80,000.

-Hmm.
-I mean,
it's affecting our budget,

-our timeline.-Yeah, that's not good.

Orr and Lee need to get over
on to other projects.

You know, if we delay this,

then we're going to delay
the next job.

We can't leave John to
his own devices.

He needs
a voice of reason.

He's got Orr.
He's got Lee, you, me.

He's not listening to
any of us.

And I don't understand
how to rein him in.

Well, he's an entrepreneur.

He's in college. He's busy.

I mean, he's young.
He's learning.

At this point, I would say
we have to see this through.

You know,
it's going to be frustrating.

But at the end of the day,
I do think he has potential.

So we can't give up on him.

No, he has potential.
And I want to see it through.

It's just how do you
get through to somebody

who doesn't want to listen

to all the experienced people
around him?

With patience.

-Yeah.
-[Jonathan laughs]

Well, I'm gonna swing over
there in the next few days

just to have a peek
and see what's happening.

All right.

-All right.
I'll see you later.-Bye.

[Drew]I'm heading to John's property
to see everyone in person.

Thirteen change orders
is pretty unbelievable.

I need to chat
with Orr and Lee

to get a better handle
on this.

Plus,
John is meeting us later,

and I definitely
have questions for him.

Man.

All hands on deck.

-[Orr] Good to see you.
-I see a lot of glass.

Yep.
All these doors are in, so.

[Drew]
And it looks impressive.

But I just can't believe

that the budget blows.

What other change orders
could there potentially be?

From what I know,
I think maybe he just wants
to add a fountain on the side.

-But--
-[Drew] Oh, yeah.
Jonathan told me about that.

I think he also wants to do
a cold plunge

and then I think
some more carpentry work.

-Okay. Well, that's a lot of--
-[Orr] Changes, yeah.

And... And expensive
changes, too.

-Correct.
-[Drew] There's a tipping
point...

-Right.
-...where you're just
spending way more

-than you're gonna see back
any time soon.
-Exactly.

[Drew] Can we look
inside the garage?

-[Orr] Yeah.
-[Drew] Okay.

So is this the door
that you're...

-you have been waiting on or--
-Yeah.

So, we're still waiting
on the glass or what?

[Orr] Uh, yeah, right now,
it's just a custom fabrication

of the iron here,

and then the glass will be
coming in as the second part.

-Okay. Is Lee inside or--
She's there?
-Lee's inside?

-Okay, I'll be back. Yeah.
I'll talk to you in a bit.
-Yeah, awesome.

[Drew] You know,
with the original scope
of work we talked about,

he was already
at the top of the market.

He could ask a premium rent
for this property.

If you keep trying
to push the ceiling,

you're the most expensive
house in the neighborhood,

you're not gonna
keep going up.

There's only so high
you can go.

-Hey.
-Oh, hi.

[Drew] I just heard, uh, from
Orr all the change orders.

Oh, my God, I know.
It's crazy, right?

[Drew] Is there
anything to you,

like, in your mind,
that is a little ridiculous

that he's adding?

Specifically, this whole thing
with the fountain outside,

I do like the idea
of having a water feature

and being able
to open up the doors
when you're in the space.

That feels okay to me.

But then he took it
to a whole other level
with this.

He really wants
to sort of replicate

the Venice Canals
in this space

along the back wall.

[Drew] I don't understand
all that.

He also wants to bring in
the... this big, like,
a metal "Z"

that sort of, like, supports
the counter over here.

Wait, what do you mean,
a metal "Z?"

[Lee] So when you walk in,

it... it'll be, like,
the first thing you see.

[Drew] We're not
even finishing on time.

Cabinets aren't done.

We haven't even painted.

The flooring is not in,
the garage is nowhere
near finished.

Oh, I know
there's a lot to do.

He's pushed the envelope
on every single thing
in this house.

He's gone custom
wherever he can.

[Drew] He's draining
his bank account

with all these extra features
he's trying to throw in.

I know, and it--
it's a fine line--

-Oh.
-Hey, hey.

-[Lee] Hi.
-[Drew] I've just heard about

some of your fun add-ons
that you're doing.

-I made some upgrades, yeah.
-[Lee chuckles]

What's the deal with the "Z?"

It's the Zen in Venice.

We're for building "Zenice."

Are the-- Are these
custom fabricated?

-Yeah, they are.
-[Drew] Tell me, honestly,

how much are they costing you?

A few grand.

I think we're taking
things to new heights.

That's... That's what I think.

These Z's, I don't get it.

We already had the plan.

You can't keep
changing the plan

just because you have
a new cool thing

that popped up on social media
that you wanna spend on.

I'm sure they're amazing,

and it's nice,
but it's still a few grand

when you think we're already
around $60,000 to $80,000
over budget.

-[John] Mmm...
-Because the original budget
was $480,000.

I think we're about
to $40,000 over budget.

We were... We were about
that over budget

because of the... doing
the footings, right?

Original budget,
then there were the footings,

- and then you had
about $35,000.
-[John] Oh. True.

If you add that on, too, yeah.
If you add that--

-Oh, no, I add on all numbers.
-[laughing] You add--

An-- Any numbers that are
over and above what
we originally talked about,

-that's an add-on.
-But then what's three grand,

-what's three grand
if it's that much?
-[Lee laughs]

Oh, man.

[Jonathan] I'm not even sure
where the extra money
is coming from

to cover
all the change orders.

But it's frustrating
'cause you're mentoring
somebody about

being financially responsible,

and then they're turning
around and just pulling money

out of thin air
from everywhere.

Well, even if these changes
seem like small expenses
right now,

it's gonna catch up with him.

I'm thinking of your budget
and... and your return, right?

But at the same time,
I think that going
the extra mile

and spending more
than other hosts

will earn high enough reviews
to where the return
will be worthwhile.

I mean, I hope you're right.
I really do.

You are making a lot
of the same mistakes
that we made early on,

and it bit us in the butt
because we realized,

-hopeful thinking
is what you're saying...
-Yeah.

...and it didn't pan out.

And the added amount
of time to... to gain back

-what we were spending,
it wasn't worth it.
-[John] Mm-hmm.

[Jonathan] He's making
rookie mistakes.

[Drew] And he needs
to start listening

to the people around him
who have more experience.

We're here to help him.

It's almost as if he feels
he's the only person
that can accomplish this.

What worries me is the fact
that in the yard,

I personally think
it's a bit busy.

Where... Where are you putting
in the cold plunge?

That's the latest I heard,
is the change.

So the cold plunge,
we'd put right over here,
right next to the sauna.

So, you know,
are there any other costs
that we still don't know

that are on top
of the extra 75,000?

-No.
-Well, that...
Blow up the fountain,

we didn't really figure
that out yet.

Yeah, that's potentially
another eight grand.

Wait, you literally just said,
"No. That's it for costs."

And then you have $8,000
for a... a fountain feature.

So the extra $80,000
in overages. That's it, right?

I'll try, I'll try.

It's-- Again, it's your money
at the end of the day,
so that... It's up to you.

But the one thing that bugs me
is Orr told me

that we're now gonna be
about five weeks behind.

I have Orr going
on another project
within that time frame.

That means you're now
delaying my other projects,

and I need to make sure
that we can do anything we can

that is not gonna
be an add-on

-that's gonna delay him
even more.
-[John] Okay.

Because then you're costing me

more money
on other projects, right?

-Definitely.
-So please rein in
whatever else we can rein in.

We don't wanna take away
from other homeowners

that we made
a commitment to them

to make sure
that we're gonna
get their project done.

-Definitely.
-[Drew] All right,
thanks, guys.

[both] Thank you.

[Drew] Oh, man!
It's a great property.

I know he's gonna get
a great rent for this,

but at the end of the day,
he's spending so much

on all these
extra little things
that are not gonna get him

any more money
for the property.

It's just eating
into his return.

Plus, he's not accounting
for any last-minute problems
that could pop up.

You know, honestly,
this is a complete example
of diminishing returns.

This is quickly becoming
the most difficult project
that we're working on

because our investor
is changing things last minute

or adding things on that throw
everything into chaos.

Every time we think we know
where this build project
is at, it changes.

He's so focused on making
this the best property
anyone has ever seen,

he's not even paying attention
to the stress

that he's causing to us
in our trades

and everybody who's trying
to make this happen.

And he's... he's definitely
got the blinders on,

and he's focused on something
that he gets in his head.

Not every good idea
is a good idea.

[cell phone chimes]

[cell phone chimes]

[cell phone chimes]

[John] This is incredible.

You know,
as you're renting the place,

one thing that's important
is how it's going

to uphold with the renters,

-it's this.
-[John] Yep.

[Evan] This is gonna uphold,
for sure,

with scratches and chips.

[John] The brothers
have been a cheat code.

They've introduced me
to a lot of amazing
suppliers and vendors

who have provided us
with a lot of really
incredible products.

[Orr] Any type of rentals,

the biggest thing
is the low maintenance,
you know.

Not having to deal
with anything here.

It's just, once we install it,
it looks great.

We're in, and you know,
we're... we're moving.

[John] Part of the drawback
with the bathroom

is putting
so much glass in it,
you lose some privacy.

So, we're trying to solve that
by adding electric glass

to where it can,
you know, turn opaque
with the flick of a switch.

All of the decisions
that increase spending
and make change orders

are to improve
the quality of this home

and greater
guest satisfaction.

You know, I'm all about,
like, calculated strategy
and calculated risk.

I think we have a little bit
different definitions of that.

[Drew] Early on,
we told John that creating
a beautiful front deck

is an important part
of the overall design.

[Jonathan] What if we extended
a deck across

and moved the front entrance
to the far side?

My end goal is,
can we open up the entire
back side of the house

so that we have
as much glass as possible?

I think
that makes sense to do.

[Drew] Having
a scenic outdoor space
off the front of the house

is gonna give potential guests
a good first impression

and really take this rental
to the next level.

[Orr] So, we ran into
a little issue with the deck.

Inspector came by
after drywall inspection

and basically was saying
that he did not want the deck,

like, extending out
as far as what the plans say.

We have it extended
per the plan

all the way to here,
and we left about 20 inches

for... for the trees...

But he doesn't want it
extending out past six feet.

So we gotta cut
this whole thing back

and meet that six foot.

We need to be
six-foot setback,

-or six foot off the--
-Six foot off the, yeah,

-off the front
of the house, yeah.
-[John] Okay.

We can only
extend out six feet

and then do our stairs.

We built it
as per the drawing,

just as planned,
but it doesn't matter.

The deck's gotta be smaller.

Basically, we undo a lot
of what we're doing now,

-which is what
we're working on.
-[John] Wow. Okay.

It was a little bit
disappointing

that we had to, you know,
trim it back and change it up.

Once we start
wrapping this deck up,

we'll start
wrapping up the back.

The inside?

Great, we're moving in there.

We have all the finishes,
so that's... that's moving
pretty quickly.

But we do have that issue
with... with the garage door.

We're still waiting
for the glass panes.

I mean, this is starting
to get to that finish line,

but I don't know if we can
make it with the timeline
on the garage, so...

[John] You know,
I was probably being
overly optimistic

about the garage door
coming on time.

But, uh, they're finally here,

and, you know, I'm supporting
Orr in any way I can

in meeting his timeline.

Hey, you know,
and the one thing I would
say is, well, John isn't lazy.

He... He's a hard worker
and he's a go-getter.

I think his mind
is a mile a minute
all day long.

He just needs
a little bit more
of an infusion

of the right knowledge
and the right things
to focus on

to make sure
that he's going down
the right path,

because he doesn't have
that experience yet.

[John] I'm just buzzing
with excitement right now

on the progress
of the project.

It's like every day,
a little piece of the puzzle
gets put together,

and the vision gets a little
bit closer to reality.

[Drew] John is obsessed
with the most expensive
features in this house.

He's obsessed.
That makes me nervous.

[Jonathan] I am conflicted
with John.

I see this guy
who sees this big dream

and he's willing
to put in the work.

On the flip side,

he's not working
with real numbers

and he's way too optimistic.

[John] This finally
coming to reality is like
a dream coming true,

and, you know, I just wanna,
like, pinch myself over it.

So we're all focused,
wanna make sure

that we knock
these last items out.

[Lee] I really can't believe
we're at this point.

[John] It's definitely
coming together.

[Lee] It is coming together.

I think this sectional
works perfect in this space.

[John] And this is
resistant fabric, right?

[Lee] It is. Yeah, I know
the white's a little scary

for rental properties.

The brothers are backing
John with a professional
real estate photographer

to take photos
for his short-term rental.

It's gonna make
the property stand out,

and it's a nice way
to finish this project.

[John] I think
that the presentation
of my listing

is gonna be make or break

for making sure
that it's a success.

This project has been
a long, long road,

buying it a year ago now.
You know, we've...

we've worked so hard
on this for so long,

which is kind of crazy
to think about.

So the stakes are high.

I'm definitely nervous
to show the brothers,

but I'm feeling
pretty confident.

-Big day for him
to finish this.
-It is.

Walking up,
I am a little nervous

because we've had many
walk ups to the property,

and almost every time
we start on a positive note,
and then there's been

-something that
he's doing that's--
-A surprise.

And not a good surprise.

We learn of a new add-on,
something that's changed,

-something...
-So, you...
you walk in with optimism

and you leave with...

-I'm walking in
with trepidation.
-...frustration.

-I'm walking
in with trepidation.
-...frustration.

That's what it is.

Hey, how's it going?

-[John] ...
-What's happening?

Oh, my gosh,
you have been busy.

[John] Welcome
to the Zenice Beach House.

-[Drew] Oh, my God.
-[Jonathan] You have
some curb appeal.

I will say,
looking at it from the street

just the approach alone,

-it looks great.
-[Drew] It's great.

[Jonathan] When you rent
a place,

-you're judging
everything you see.
-[Drew and John] Yeah.

[Drew] It's simple,
it's clean, it's modern.

The first impression
is awesome.

[Jonathan] Oh, oh! [whistles]

Oh, my goodness!
Look at this.

You killed it!

-I mean, it's nice.
-You did good.

-It looks--
-[Drew] It-- It is nice.

Incredible, wow!

-The architectural doors,
the sliders are incredible.
-[John] Yeah.

-They really,
really look nice.
-Yeah.

[Jonathan] I love
the natural light.

I love the canopy of green
all the way around.

[Drew] Okay, hold up.

-Let's discuss your backdrop,
your Zenice backdrop.
-Yeah.

-[Jonathan] Mm-hmm.
-[Drew] I wasn't getting
your picture.

I didn't realize you had
something that you could

-see through, like this.
-Yeah.

Can I actually stand on that?

[John] Yeah, go ahead.

-It'll take my weight?
-[John] Yep.

I tracked down a bridge
that has similar dimensions
as the Venice Canals.

I can see people
coming out here
and just, like...

-[mimicking camera
shutter clicking]
-[John] Yeah, I know,

this is the selfie spot,
for sure.

[Drew] It's... It's cute.

You... You spent extra money
in the areas where you wanted

to make a huge impression,

because at the end of the day,
you wanna have a certain feel.

-Definitely.
-So now that you're all done,

those decisions that you made,
how does it feel?

It feels like
they all paid off.

Well, I can tell you,
you won't know yet.

It will all come down
to the price

-that you rent it for...
-[John] Mm-hmm.

...and it'll all come down
to the availability.

-But, uh, this is very nice.
-[Drew] Well-- Then also,
when you think function,

tons of seating,
the island is massive.

So for entertaining
and serving platters,
this is great.

All the things
you would not typically have

in a renovation house,
in some of the small houses

that you get in this area,
you have it.

Looks amazing.

[Jonathan] I love the vibe.
I love the layout.

But from
a business perspective

and more about,
what are people
just gonna pay for?

-Yeah.
-You'll find out
if you ended up getting

the bang for your buck
with all those extras

after you start to see
that people rent.

[Jonathan] I would say,
living room, kitchen,
10 out of 10.

[John] Yeah. Let me
show you the bedrooms.

-So, this is
the primary bedroom.
-[Jonathan] Okay.

-Ooh, I love the--
-[Drew] Oh, the fire pit's
turned out really good.

[Jonathan] So much better
than the rustic
original fireplace.

[John] Yeah. Yeah, I think
that was a huge step up.

Wait, wait, wait, wait!
What?

That's it for a closet?

[John] It's a micro-closet.

-Because the primary use
isn't long-term...
-[Drew] Yeah.

...I think people
can deal with it.

-Oh, well...
Well, you will see.
-Okay.

[Drew] I mean,
when you start
getting feedback.

-Hold on--
-[Jonathan] I wouldn't be
happy with that, but--

-[Drew] Yeah, yeah.
-A little peek here.

This is weird.
What is this?

[John] It's a Unishower.

[Jonathan] Yeah,
I'm very confused by this.

If somebody is showering
from over here,

somebody could walk in
and see everything.

Yeah, we're gonna get some
electric auto-frosting glass.

-[Jonathan] Okay.
-[John] And so people will be
able to kinda, you know,

toggle and configure
what level of privacy
versus openness they want.

And so that will be ready
before renters show up.

-[Drew] Yeah.
-[Jonathan] Okay.

Well, so there's still...
still stuff to happen.

-Uh, let's take a peek,
yeah, at the other bedroom.
-Wanna look at the bedroom?

-[John] So, this is
the second bedroom.
-[Drew] Okay.

[Jonathan] It's a nice size.

I love that it opens
to the yard as well.

Pretty much every door
and window in the home

has motorized
electronic shades,

-so you can press a button,
tap something on app...
-[Drew] Yep.

-[Jonathan] Okay.
-...turns totally private.

[Jonathan] This is great.

[Drew] Oh, this is amazing.
It's gonna sell the place,

opening these doors.
Look at that yard!

-That's the view.
-[Jonathan] Wow.

And better than the dirt pit
concrete pad thing

-that was already here before.
-[Drew] Oh, yeah.

-[John] Yeah, yeah.
let's not talk about that.
-[Drew] All right.

-[Jonathan] Yeah.
-[Drew] Look at this.

Cold plunge, sauna,
a hot tub, fire pit,

whatever you want,
we got it.

We check every single box
as far as amenities.

[Drew] I like you're checking
off all the boxes.

However, there's a certain
point where you're just eating
into your own profit.

It's like
when you tell someone

don't sell
what's already been sold.

[Jonathan]You don't need to spend
all that extra money.

[Drew]We'll see if that actually
turns into rental dollars.

This looks amazing.

[John] The... The goal
was to make this, like,
a total flex space.

-I mean, it can
be a movie room.
-[Jonathan] Yeah.

[John] It can be
maybe a photo studio.

-It can be somewhere
you take naps.
-[Drew] Yeah.

[Jonathan] It was
definitely worth putting
the Murphy bed in here.

-I mean, that's making
a huge difference for you.
-[John] Yeah.

[Jonathan] I mean,
this... this is great.

I love the fact
that instantly you have

-that multifunction
that you would want.
-[John] Mm-hmm.

It's got its own bathroom...

laundry. I mean, you've got
everything out here.

I love how this opens up
on both sides.

[Drew] This is great.

Anyone looking
at this would say,

"I hit the jackpot
with this rental."

I feel all the weight
off my shoulders,

given the scope
and scale of this being
such a massive project.

Obviously, there's still
the unknowns

of how it's gonna perform
on the market.

But, you know, I have
a high degree of confidence

that people
are gonna love this place.

This actually looks
even better than what I had
envisioned in my mind.

-Yeah.
-So, I do think
you're gonna stand out

as a premium property,
which is gonna get you
a premium rate.

-Yeah.
-So originally,
you bought this place

-for what, $1.3 million?
-[John] $1.35 million.

[Jonathan] Yeah. And then
you had your renovation

that you had previously done,
which was about $150,000.

You had to redo
a lot of that stuff.

When we came onboard,

that renovation budget
was about another $480,000.

So all in...

So, you're just shy
of $2 million,

but you were almost $90,000
over what the budget was.

[Jonathan] Which brings
your grand total
to well over $2 million.

You said you figure
you can probably get,

what, about $680 a night,
80% occupancy?

-Correct, yeah.
-[Drew] Let's be
a little conservative,

say we get 600 bucks a night,
$170,000 a year on this place.

-I mean, that's not bad.
-Amazing.

[Drew] But because of
your overages,

now you're gonna make that
back over a longer period.

I don't think
it's gonna matter...

at the end of the day.

Well, I mean, it matters

because it's bringing down
your return a little bit.

If you think of what
our contribution was for you,

I mean, it was
$150,000 of value

-between labor
and material, right?
-Mm-hmm.

So that was the cost
of all the mistakes
you made in the beginning,

spending $150,000,
that you had to redo anyway.

-So, it's a bit of a wash.
-[John] Yeah. Yeah.

-Lesson learned.
-Definitely. Yeah.

You know, working
with you guys has definitely

reduced the risk
of the project,

saved a ton of money,

accelerated how fast
I've learned.

[both] Yeah.

I'm kinda just mind-blown.

Not everyone gets to be
backed by the bros,

to have their guidance
and input and mentorship
and resources.

This place wouldn't be
anywhere close

to where it is today
without them.

I think this whole project
could have been
a massive trip up,

but you've got
yourself through it.

You've got the drive,

you've got the ideas,
and now you're ready

to actually start
to generate that revenue.

My hope is,
this is gonna do so well

that you'll forget
about your plans
to add a second story

-'cause it's just
not gonna be worth it.
-Could happen.

But who knows?
For now, I think
it's a short-term rental.

If you get the price right,
you're gonna have
a really great return here.

I think you could have
listened to a bit more
of our advice.

It would have helped him
down the road,

but at least
he's still in a position

where it's a good investment,
and he's done well.

This is gonna be
a successful project,

and I do think
where it counts,

you were listening
and you were learning,
and that's important.

But more importantly,

he's now gonna have
an incredible career
in real estate

because of these
little learning moments
that he's had early on.

He's 22 years old,

he has a long career
ahead of him.

There's one thing
we have to do...

and that's celebrate.

-[Drew] Yes!
-[Jonathan] I wanna
have drinks

in front of that Zen wall.

[John] This project gives me
stability and security,

which is something
that when I was younger,

I didn't have.
I'm incredibly grateful

for the help
that they've given me.

It's made
all of the difference.

You know, I couldn't be
more thankful.

Shortly after
completing the project,

John posted his rental online

for a minimum booking period
of 30 days

and a range of 25 to 30 grand,
depending on the month.

Wow! That is a bold
and unexpected move.

Actually, I would expect
nothing less from John.

But if this pays off,
that means that the slider,

the waterfall feature,
the big Z's,

this was all worth it
in the end.