Turning Ugly Disasterous Homes Into Magnificent Dreams with Tamara Day
Key Takeaways
- Tamara Day’s journey proves that some of the strongest businesses are built during pressure, uncertainty, and financial stress.
- The biggest renovation wins often come from seeing what a property can become, not just what it looks like today.
- Investors must buy right, budget wisely, protect their sanity, and avoid cutting corners that create bigger problems later.
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The REI Agent with Tamara Day
https://youtu.be/LnoatBnFh3c
United States Real Estate Investor®
Value-rich, The REI Agent podcast takes a holistic approach to life through real estate.
Hosted by Mattias Clymer, an agent and investor, alongside his wife Erica Clymer, a licensed therapist, the show features guests who strive to live bold and fulfilled lives through business and real estate investing.
You are personally invited to witness inspiring conversations with agents and investors who share their journeys, strategies, and wisdom.
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When A Nightmare Becomes The Beginning
On this episode of The REI Agent Podcast, Mattias Clymer sits down with Tamara Day, the Kansas City-based interior designer, investor, and HGTV host of Bargain Mansions.
Her story is not a polished tale of easy success. It is a gritty, inspiring reminder that sometimes the breakthrough starts when everything seems to be falling apart.
Tamara does not come across as someone who waited for perfect timing. She comes across as someone who learned how to build, design, carry, fix, sell, lead, and keep moving when the pressure was heavy and the path was unclear.
Her journey begins with a young family, a rough house, financial fear, and a renovation that suddenly became personal. What follows is a powerful lesson for agents, investors, homeowners, and entrepreneurs who are trying to build something meaningful from the middle of real-life chaos.
The House That Forced Her To Become The Woman She Needed To Be
When The Income Dropped And The Work Got Real
Tamara explains that her path into renovation and design started as what she calls a happy accident. She and her husband bought their first house together, renovated it, sold it successfully, and kept going. Her husband already had a deep background in houses, partly because his parents once owned 75 rental properties.
Then 2008 hit.
Her husband worked in the financial world. They had three little children. They were halfway through a renovation when the financial crisis crushed his income almost overnight.
"It was a nightmare."
That moment could have stopped the whole story. Instead, it became the fire that shaped it.
Tamara says they fired the contractor, fired the designer, and fired everyone. Her husband worked during the day, and she worked on the house during the day. If there was something she could physically do, she did it.
"So if there was anything I could physically do, I started doing it myself."
That is the kind of sentence that sounds simple until the reality sinks in. She was not casually doing a weekend project. She was raising babies, renovating a house, protecting her family, and pushing through one of the hardest economic periods in modern history.
The Driveway Days That Built A Brand
After they moved forward from that season, Tamara still had a big house and furniture that did not fit. So she started buying estate sale furniture and refinishing pieces in the driveway.
Friends noticed. People wanted to buy what she made. Something that started as a practical fix slowly turned into a business.
She would buy a piece for $20, add a little paint and labor, and sell it for hundreds. The driveway became her studio. Twice a year, she hosted estate sale-style events at her house and invited other mompreneurs to participate.
Those events pulled in around 1,000 people in a weekend. Food trucks came. Friends spread the word. People walked through her home and saw her design choices.
That is when the real shift happened.
People saw the white kitchen, subway tile, marble countertops, open shelves, and bold design choices she had created before they were common. They wanted her help. Her design business began because people saw what she had built with her own hands.
From Family Hustle To National Television
The Strange Path To Bargain Mansions
Tamara’s HGTV story did not begin with a master plan. It began through family, timing, and a casting connection that almost sounded too strange to believe.
Her brother had met a casting person years earlier. Later, that same connection eventually led to a search for someone who could host a Kansas City home renovation show. Another brother pointed them toward Tamara because she was already flipping, designing, and doing serious house work.
At first, Tamara thought the whole thing might be a scam. Eventually, she took the meeting.
"What's the worst that can happen?"
That small decision helped open a door that led to almost 11 years, six seasons, and around 70 Bargain Mansions renovation projects.
Her story is a strong reminder that visibility often follows action. She was already doing the work before the cameras showed up. The show did not create her skill. It revealed it.
The Roots Of Her Do-It-Yourself Mindset
Tamara traces much of her mindset back to her family. Her parents were farm kids from Western Kansas, and she grew up around a do-it-yourself approach to life.
Her parents built homes from the ground up. They would finish enough of a house to move in, then keep working on the basement or upstairs while living there. Her childhood weekends included hands-on work, house projects, and lessons learned the hard way.
That background created a woman who was not afraid of messy spaces, broken houses, or big renovations. It also helped her understand that potential is often hidden under dust, damage, and fear.
The Brutal Truth About Living Through A Renovation
Why Tamara Says Not To Do It If You Can Avoid It
Mattias shares that he and Erica once lived through a major renovation with young kids. He describes the experience as miserable, and Tamara agrees with full force.
"Absolutely not."
That was her answer when asked if she would live through a major live-in flip again.
"It's just a miserable experience to live through."
Tamara explains that living inside a construction zone creates a mental burden that many homeowners do not expect. Every night, they inspect the work. Every small detail starts to feel like a problem. Doubt builds. Trust breaks down. The homeowner begins wondering if the work is good, if the contractor is honest, and if the whole project is going wrong.
She contrasts that with visiting a project every couple of weeks. Instead of obsessing over tiny daily changes, the homeowner gets to see major progress. That shift can protect both the relationship and the renovation experience.
The Worst House She Ever Took On
Tamara then describes one of the most shocking properties of the conversation. It started as a short sale, became a foreclosure, and had been vacant for almost a year.
The house had squatters. It had birds and cats. It had a hole in the roof the size of her bedroom. It had five dumpsters of trash before renovation even began. Food, needles, boxes, broken appliances, pulled lights, and kicked-down doors filled the story.
"It was probably the worst house I've ever done."
Most people would have walked away. Tamara walked in with three babies and saw possibility.
"This is exactly what I want."
That line captures one of the biggest lessons of the episode. Great investors and designers often see a different property than everyone else sees. Others see filth, fear, and work. Tamara sees space, structure, value, and what could be.
The Gift Of Seeing What A House Can Become
Not Stuck In What It Is
When Mattias asks how she sees potential in overlooked properties, Tamara explains that she can visualize space very clearly. She is not trapped by the current layout or the current condition.
"I can envision the space of what it can be very, very well."
"I'm not stuck in what it is. I'm stuck in what it can be."
That is the creative investor mindset in one sentence. She is not afraid to move a wall. She is not afraid to reimagine a room. She is not afraid to move a kitchen if the numbers and layout make sense.
She shares an example of a house where the kitchen was in the basement, even though the home had a beautiful vaulted area that made far more sense for the kitchen. So they turned the basement kitchen into a bar and created a top-tier kitchen upstairs.
That is not just design. That is value creation.
Repetition Builds Renovation Confidence
Mattias points out that after enough projects, a person starts to trust the process more. Tamara agrees. Once someone has seen rough spaces become beautiful again, they are less likely to panic in the ugly middle.
That is a valuable lesson for any agent or investor. Experience does not remove the problems. It helps people recognize which problems are temporary, which problems are dangerous, and which problems are simply part of the process.
The Contractor Nightmare That Destroyed The Budget
When The Roof Came Off And The Contractor Disappeared
One of the most dramatic moments in the episode comes when Tamara tells the story of a major budget blowout on Bargain Mansions. The project involved popping up a ranch-style house and turning it into a story-and-a-half home.
The contractor was supposed to be a top-tier, award-winning builder. Then he took off the roof and did not come back for a month.
"It rained into the house for a month."
Tamara and her husband tried to cover the windows with plastic. The contractor would not answer calls. Rain destroyed flooring, sheetrock, and created deep water in the basement. They had to rip everything out.
It was more than frustrating. It was expensive, stressful, and deeply avoidable.
The Real Cost Of Cutting Corners
Tamara explains that there are no perfect guarantees with contractors. A contractor may do five great projects, then fail badly on the sixth. But she also makes a blunt point about price, quality, and responsibility.
"When you try to cut corners, there's always a cost."
She warns homeowners and investors against piecemealing a project just to save money. Hiring one friend for electrical, another person for plumbing, and someone else for another piece may sound cheaper. But if there is no general contractor managing the process, the homeowner becomes the project manager.
That means the homeowner carries the stress, the delays, the mistakes, and the blame when something goes wrong.
Her message is clear. Paying for the right leadership on a project can protect money, sanity, and results.
Turning A Design Brand Into Multiple Income Streams
The Retail Store That Became A Hard Lesson
Tamara also talks about building a national brand through television, design, and retail. She opened a physical retail store in December 2019, just months before COVID restrictions hit.
The timing was painful. The show was airing, people wanted to visit the store, and cars would drive through the parking lot. But the store could not fully operate, and the business was not yet ready for online retail.
On top of that, Tamara was filming heavily, raising four children, running projects, and trying to manage too much at once.
"The reality is you can only do so many things well."
That lesson shifted her thinking. Instead of spreading herself thin across too many buckets, she began leaning into what gave her energy and satisfaction.
Designing Products That Can Travel Across The World
Today, Tamara works with companies to design lighting, art, pillows, lamps, case goods, upholstered furniture, rugs, mirrors, wallpaper, and cabinetry doors. These products allow her design eye to reach people far beyond Kansas City.
She gets to design the product, sell through her website, and let fulfillment happen without packing boxes herself.
For agents and investors, the deeper lesson is not just about decor. It is about building income around a clear niche. Tamara did not chase every opportunity. She built from the thing she loved and understood deeply.
"If you just really focus in on what makes you happy, what you enjoy doing, that you really will turn that into revenue streams."
Protecting The Person Behind The Success
Why Tamara Makes Herself A Priority
The REI Agent Podcast brings a holistic lens to success, and Tamara’s routine fits that theme. She talks about movement, her Aura Ring, a vibration plate, walking, healthy eating, IV therapy, and reading regularly.
But the most powerful part is not the specific tools. It is the boundary.
"I turn it off at six o'clock, five, six o'clock. I'm all done."
Tamara knows her work matters, but she also knows she cannot create beauty from a state of complete stress.
"I can't design beautiful things if I am completely stressed out, it doesn't work."
That is a message every driven professional needs to hear. Ambition without recovery becomes a trap. Creativity needs space. Leadership needs health. Success needs a person strong enough to carry it.
The Books, The Calm, And The Reset
Tamara also shares that she reads or listens to about a book a week. She listens while doing laundry, cooking dinner, and running errands. Instead of filling every open space with noise, she uses books to keep learning and refueling.
That habit connects to the bigger theme of the episode. The strongest builders are not just building properties. They are building themselves.
The Weird, Wild, And Wonderful Side Of Renovation
The Mummified Raccoon In The Wall
Not every renovation lesson is serious. Some are just unforgettable.
When Mattias asks about the craziest thing she has found in a house, Tamara gives an answer that belongs in every renovation horror story collection.
"I would say the craziest thing I ever found was a mummified raccoon in the wall of a house."
She describes it as a full-size, shriveled-up raccoon hanging out inside the wall. It is strange, funny, and exactly the kind of thing that reminds people that renovation work is never boring.
The Tiny Newspaper Clipping With A Big Story
Tamara also shares a more meaningful find. While cleaning out an old house, she spotted a tiny newspaper clipping. It was the original listing for the home, which had sold for $18,500 about a century earlier.
That small discovery shows why old homes carry more than repairs and resale value. They carry stories. They carry evidence of the lives, markets, families, and dreams that came before.
Tamara Day's Golden Rules For Investors And Renovators
Buy Right Before You Dream Big
Near the end of the conversation, Mattias asks Tamara for golden nuggets. Her first rule is direct and timeless.
"You make your money when you buy the house."
She warns people not to fall in love with a property and overpay. Every house has beauty in it, but beauty does not erase bad numbers. The deal has to make sense from the beginning.
That is one of the most important reminders for anyone chasing a renovation dream. Emotion may help someone see potential, but the purchase price determines whether that potential can become profit.
Be Brave, But Do Not Be Blind
Tamara also encourages people not to be afraid. She believes many people assume something cannot be done before they even ask the right questions.
"Don't be afraid."
At the same time, she balances courage with discipline. She warns people not to get in over their heads. Carrying costs, delayed materials, unrealistic allowances, and weak budgets can crush a project.
Her example of a $1.5 million build with unrealistic appliance and plumbing allowances is a warning. A total project price is not enough. Owners need to read the details, understand the line items, and know whether the budget matches the quality they expect.
The Book That Captures Her Heart
A Recommendation Built On Kindness And Generosity
When asked for a favorite book, Tamara recommends Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. She describes it as a heartwarming story centered on beauty, art, kindness, compassion, curiosity, and generosity.
"The world would be a better place if everyone read this book."
That recommendation fits the tone of the episode. Tamara’s story is about more than houses. It is about seeing what others miss, giving energy to what matters, creating beauty from hardship, and building a life with meaning.
From Broken Houses To A Built Life
The Real Inspiration Behind Tamara Day's Journey
Tamara Day’s episode is not just a renovation story. It is a resilience story. It is a story about a woman who carried wood while raising babies, refinished furniture in the driveway, built a design business through word of mouth, stepped into television through an unexpected opportunity, and kept building from there.
Her message is powerful because it feels earned. She does not sell the fantasy that success is easy. She shows that success can be created through vision, grit, smart buying, careful budgeting, strong boundaries, and the courage to see what something could become before everyone else sees it.
For agents, investors, designers, and dreamers, Tamara’s story offers a clear challenge. Do not stay trapped by what is broken in front of you. Learn to see the structure, the possibility, and the future hiding underneath the mess.
Because sometimes the worst house, the hardest season, or the most chaotic project is not the end of the story. Sometimes it is the place where the real transformation begins.
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories on The REI Agent podcast, your go-to source for insights, inspiration, and strategies from top agents and investors who are living their best lives through real estate.
For more content and episodes, visit reiagent.com.
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Transcript
Welcome to the REI Agent. My guest today is Tamara Day, a Kansas City-based interior designer, investor, and HGTV host of Bargain Mansions. Her national television platform has given her a unique reach, but what sets her apart is she is still deeply active in the trenches designing for her clients and investing in real estate every day.
Tamara, welcome to the REI Agent podcast.
Thanks for having me, this'll be fun.
Yeah, I'm excited. Man, you have an HGTV show and you renovate mansions. That's, how did you get there?
Where did that story come from?
You know, it was really a happy accident for me. We were young and married and bought our first house together. My husband had a long history of renovating houses.
He bought his first house when he was 16.
Oh, wow.
And his parents had, at the height of their purchasing, had 75 rental houses. And so he learned from them growing up how to do flips, how to do rentals. And when we bought our first house together, it was in really rough shape.
We renovated it, did really well when we sold it and have continued doing that. But in 2008, that was when everything really changed was his day job was in the financials world. And we had three babies that were three, two, and brand new.
And so I'd been staying home for a long time. He was working his day job and we were halfway through renovating this house. And it was fall of 08 when AIG and Lehman's went down and his income dropped 90% overnight.
It was a nightmare. We fired the contractor, we fired the designer, we fired everyone. And he worked all day and I worked on the house all day.
So if there was anything I could physically do, I started doing it myself. So that tile, I put it in. There's so many things like that in the house that it's like, oh yeah, I remember carrying all of that through the house.
Every stick of wood for the floors on the first floor, I carried off that semi truck while the guy smoked a cigarette watching me do it because we didn't want to pay somebody to do it. He wasn't willing to do it and help me. He was fine standing there for an hour and a half just watching me carry one board at a time.
And so got my hands real dirty and it was oftentimes babies taking naps in a construction zone and just trying to get through the tough times. Luckily things turned around for us the next year. We were able to move in and get it going but we had this giant house and furniture that didn't fit.
We needed to refinish it. And I started buying estate cell furniture and refinishing it in the driveways. And friends started being like, well, I really liked that chair or that cabin or whatever.
Can I buy it from you? And I was like, okay, well, I paid 20 bucks for it. I've got $5 of paint in it and an hour's work, house 300 bucks.
Yes, sold. And so our driveway was a paint studio, refinishing studio for a long time. Those were our driveway days.
And we started doing these estate sales like events at my house twice a year, spring and fall. And I invited all my mompreneur friends that were selling bags or earrings or oils or whatever it might be to have a little space in the house. And we would have a thousand people come through the house in a weekend, food truck in the front yard.
And it was such a fun event. It was all word of mouth, all mom-led people getting the word out. And I would go back to that in a heartbeat.
But while people were walking through, they started seeing my house. This was, again, 2009 when this started. I'd done a white kitchen, subway tile, marble countertops, and no one had ever seen that before. Joanna made it five years later. It was a brand new idea. Open shelves, it was wild and crazy ideas. And everybody flipped out.
They wanted me to come help them with theirs. And that's how my design business started. While that was all happening, all of our rental properties were worth less than we had paid for them.
It was a nightmare financially to figure out. But by the end of 2009, it had right-sided everything. We were in a good spot.
And we decided, you know what? We're gonna take the profit while we can on these houses and sold most of them and started flipping that into commercial real estate, where we started buying. Our first real estate property was the Guitar Center.
We bought the building they were renting and had a long-term lease on it. And so that was how we evolved into that. The show came about because they had seen the estate sales and they saw what I'd done with our house.
And they wanted to see some of our rentals and started talking to them. And they had already pitched an idea of a show in Kansas City to the network. They loved the idea, but they needed a host.
And so they were looking for someone. And when they saw the work I was doing, the work I had done, we said, let's go. And here we are almost 11 years later, six seasons, 70-ish bargain mansions later.
That's wild. I mean, was it on social media? Like where did they, how'd they like find it?
Well, so five years earlier, my brother was renovating a house downtown and met a casting person that was looking for somebody to do a commercial for her or for a business she was representing. And he saw her at a hardware store and she was like, you're cute, would you wanna do a commercial? And he was like, okay, sounds fun.
And he gave her his number and she called him five years later and was like, this guy, Matt moved to Kansas City from LA and he's looking to do an HGTV show and needs a host. So I'm calling everybody I've ever met. And he was like, thanks, I got a job.
I'm good, not real interested. I don't do houses anymore. Call my other brother, he does some cool woodworking stuff.
And so she talked to my other brother and he met Matt and Matt was like, oh, you're cute, you're cool but I can't do a show about tables, thanks anyway. And he turned around and he walked out and he's like, I don't know what you're looking for but if you want house stuff, my sister does some really cool flipping and designing, you might check her out. And from there, Caleb talked me into meeting Matt, I thought it was a total scam, I didn't really believe it.
And finally, I was like, okay, fine, I'll have a lunch with this guy. And I met him, I was like, oh, well, he seems actually pretty legit. He's done some shows I've heard of and okay, what's the worst that can happen?
And so basically, if you have two cute brothers that people like, you get a TV show is how that worked out. Be ready.
That's awesome, that's such a great story. It sounds like, I mean, your whole family is like, hands-on, like, you know, handy, like did that, did your parents teach you that? I mean, where did that come from?
Or were you like artistic through school, like?
You know, it is definitely runs in the family, farm kids. My dad and mom were both farm kids. They grew up, you know, in Western Kansas, do it yourself mentality and pretty much everything.
And I grew up in a house where my parents always knew the value of the best piece of real estate they could purchase. And so they built, they never renovated a house. They always built from the ground up, but they dug great basements.
They renovated the first floor to the point that we could move into it. And then while we lived in it, they would finish out the basement or the upstairs, depending on the house. And so weekends were spent sweeping wood putty.
Like I remember it, I don't know, it's the first memory of being in time out. And I sat on the staircase, picking out the wood putty on the stairs. I was like, well, that looks like something to do.
And I picked it all out and my dad lost it and made me learn how to put it back. So yes, I definitely come from a DIY background. And yes, all of my siblings also do all the things.
That's really cool. We, it's also really hard. I mean, like, so you've done it now.
I mean, you grew up in that environment. The house you're in now, it was a live and flip, right? I mean, we did that with the house we're in and I just still have pictures of our kids crawling over the most disgusting carpets like in the world.
They are so stained and so bad. And like, we wanted to put in like something like hardwood or whatever. We just didn't have the money for it when we first bought.
So like, we just lived in it for a while. And then when we did, we did a flip to be able to pay for a renovation of the house. And when we were able to do that, it was miserable.
Like we were in the basement while the upstairs was getting renovated and we were like doing dishes in the sink and we had little kids. Those are some dark days. It was also COVID.
That kind of darkness all around. So I don't want to do it again is what I'm trying to say. Like, would you, would you, I know you're in a different position.
You probably would never need to, but is it something you would consider doing a live and flip again now that you've kind of gone through it?
Absolutely not. And I very strong, like I can get strong and armed, strong armed into doing it for clients that they really want to stay in the house. But I push really hard.
It's just a miserable experience to live through. And if you want to do it right and you don't want to lose your mind and you want, want to love the house and not move in angry, like don't live there. I think that it takes such a mental toll on you to live through the construction, especially if you're not in the industry.
Like I've got to say, we, my house is never done. We've been here for 18 years now. It's never done.
It's never going to be done. There will always be a project. I just ordered a new fireplace around this morning.
Like that's going to get done. I'm not moving out for that. Like we live with construction often, but what I see clients and homeowners do is that you live in the basement.
And so every night you go up and inspect every inch of work that has been done. Was it, what about this? What about that?
And it creates this sense of like, nothing's getting done right. Even though it is getting done right, you just may not know the process and it builds mistrust in the process. It builds a feeling of, am I being taken advantage of?
Is this, are they good enough? Are they quality? Is the work going to be what I wanted?
And your mind is spinning nonstop versus if you come to a site visit every two weeks, you have this, oh wow, look how much got done. A moment feels a whole lot better.
No, I can see that for sure. And I agree completely. Like I think what we did was great and I would do it again.
And I agree. I think we'll keep, you know, keep having projects throughout, but like to have like, yeah, your kitchen on is just, it was miserable. And yeah, we just couldn't have afforded back then to do it a different way.
But it's kind of like when you have, I advise people if you can buy a house without selling, that is a luxury and it's just, it makes the process so much easier. It's kind of like that, right? Like, I mean, it's just, it's a way better way to go.
You can do it, but not everybody can do it.
I will say we did not live in this during the majority of the renovation. We did have a rental house that we lived in made all the difference, but it was still really, really tough. But this house was a short sale or a foreclosure.
It started as a short sale, became a foreclosure and it had sat vacant for almost a year and it had had squatters. It had birds and cats. It had a hole in the roof, the size of my bedroom.
It was not inhabitable at any point. And it had five dumpsters of trash before Reno started. Like food, needles, boxes, all the appliances had been beaten with bats.
The lights had been yanked out of the ceilings. The doors had been kicked down. Like it was probably the worst house I've ever done.
Wow. That's amazing.
Great deal.
Well, I mean, that brings me to one of my first questions this year is you've renovated dozens of homes across Kansas City and built the business around spotting potential in overlooked properties. When you walk through a property, what do you see that others might not? Or how can you envision what's going to be possible when other people would just be like, oh my gosh, no way.
Like what you just described, 99% of people would be like, oh my gosh, no way.
And the funny thing is, is when I walked into this, my husband was out of town. I had the three babies. I had a backpack with a baby.
I'm holding babies on either side and walking through. I'm like, this is exactly what I want. So either that says I'm crazy or I've got something.
And I think what I have that other people don't is that I can see space visually. I can envision the space of what it can be very, very well. And I'm not stuck in what it is.
I'm stuck in what it can be. And I'm not afraid of moving a wall. I'm not afraid of just the thought of a space.
This space doesn't necessarily have to be what it currently is. You can take a kitchen and move it to a different part of the house if it makes financial sense, which we've done. We did a house five or six years ago.
The kitchen was in the basement. It made no sense. It was like the most absurd place to put a kitchen.
And they had this phenomenal vaulted ceiling, gorgeous hearth area that was a huge kitchen area that was just a living room and was the exact spot you'd want a kitchen. So we completely took out the kitchen in the basement, turned it into a bar, put in a whole new like top tier kitchen upstairs in a completely different space. So seeing like what could be versus what is, is I think my biggest gift.
And I guess you kind of grew up in that environment. I think, you know, it becomes a lot, like you can trust the process a lot more. I would agree with you that I can do the same thing, but definitely having gone through flips, you can trust the process a lot more and know that like once you get to like, you know, paint or the hardwoods being refinished, like that's when it gets exciting.
That's like when you're like finally like, oh, you can like, oh, this is coming together. And it's not like kind of depressing to come in here. It's exciting.
And so you can trust that process probably as well with more reps under your belt.
For sure.
And you said that the show's on 70?
We've done six seasons and I think it's somewhere around 70. I can't remember if it's like 68 or 74, something in that vicinity, yes. So we've seen a few things transformed.
Yeah, okay. So obviously not every renovation goes exactly as planned. What's the biggest budget blowout you've experienced with Bargain Mansions and what caused it and what did it teach you about how to protect margins in the future?
The largest one we ever had was, I believe it was season two. And it was a house that was a ranch and we were popping it up. And great foundation, great layout.
The floors were in good shape. We were knocking down a couple of walls, but nothing, not real major. In the reconfiguring of the layout on the first floor, it was mostly just popping up the top and making it a story and a half.
And the day, I feel like the biggest budget blower was that the contractor we had hired, who was supposed to be a top tier award-winning builder, took the roof off and then didn't come back for a month. It rained into the house for a month. My husband and I were over there trying to plastic the windows up, trying to, all the windows had been pulled.
He just basically was like, see you in a month when I get back from whatever. Wouldn't answer phone calls, was very, very difficult. And it rained into the house for a month and it destroyed all the flooring, all the sheet rock, and was feet deep in the basement.
We had to rip everything out. So that was a tremendous problem. Came highly recommended, very frustrating experience for sure.
Oh my gosh, I can't imagine. And that is such a problem. It can be.
And having a contractor that will just give you an accurate idea of when they'll start, and then when they start, that they'll stay on the job. I mean, I know it's the balance of juggling, trying to keep their guys busy, trying to not turn down business and all that stuff.
Cashflow's gonna keep going for everybody.
I get it.
Cashflow's gotta keep going for everybody, right? They have to have multiple projects going, but if you don't project manage well, it's a problem.
It's terrible. Like, yeah, and it just eats into, even if you don't have a roof gone, which is just insane. It's just a stalled project.
That costs money. Holding costs, all that stuff, time is money. And you can't just afford months of no progress.
So that's brutal.
It was brutal. That was the worst. I can think of others that budget busted, but that was by far the worst.
So I would imagine that, I mean, do you typically have now, like, this is my contractor, these are my people, or do you still kind of have new ones come every once in a while, and how do you protect yourself from that happening again?
You know, I think that what is really interesting about the contractor world is you can have a contractor that can do five projects and do them really, really well for you, and you love him, and it goes perfectly smooth. And then there's a sixth project, and you're like, where'd the guy I knew go? We've done all this together, and now, like, what has happened in your world that you're dropping them all so phenomenally?
So there are no guarantees is what it boils down to. But you get what you pay for also. And I think that we have done projects that are $50,000 renovations.
We've done projects that are million-dollar renovations. And when you try to cut corners, there's always a cost. And making sure you're paying attention to that.
Hey, like, the consequence of cutting a corner of like, instead of having a general contractor, we're just gonna project manage. We really like this person for this thing and this person for this thing. And when the homeowner starts piecemealing it, it just crumbles.
It's not, it is not the way to go. You think you're gonna save money, but the cost on your mental sanity, the actual dollar cost increases. You've lost money when you start doing that.
And keeping that in mind is huge. It is so tempting to be like, oh, I've got a friend that's an electrician. I've got a friend that, yeah, but you've got a contractor that is gonna manage all these people.
And yes, you pay him a percentage. It's worth it, because he's gonna be responsible for them showing up. Not you.
He's gonna be the one making sure that it gets done right. But if you are project managing each of those people yourself, nobody but you is responsible and you're gonna carry the load if they do it wrong.
It makes a ton of sense. As an agent, as somebody who does renovations from time to time as well, I have my go-to people for sure. And they, but they like respond to me because I give them a lot of business, right?
And so if you have a general contractor, they're gonna be the same way. Like if they need to sub stuff out, they are gonna have people, I'm sure that will, they have a good working relationship. They don't wanna burn that bridge, that kind of stuff that as a average homeowner, you probably don't have that kind of rapport with all the different people.
They're gonna put you at the bottom of the list or whatever.
Exactly.
Especially if you're just trying to get it for cheaper.
And I have contractors, like somebody asked me recently, do you have, I just need this one thing done in my house. Do you have a guy? And I'm like, I've got a guy.
I've got a guy at every price point. Which one do you want? You want the one that's gonna give you a headache and is gonna show up late and he's gonna, but he's gonna be cheap.
Or do you want the guy that it's gonna cost a little bit more, but it's gonna be done perfectly. It's going to be done on time. It's going to be like, which one are you looking for?
And if you pick this one, I will give you the number. I am not responsible for the outcome. Yeah.
I like that. It's true. I mean, so you've built this national brand through TV, a design business.
You are doing retail stuff too, right? We should get into that.
We do online retail. We did a retail store, opened it during COVID or three months before COVID. So that was not ideal.
That was a tough year. And it also was tough in that I thought I could do more with my time than I could. I was filming two seasons.
We were halfway through a season, picked up another season during that year. So we opened the retail store December of 19. And by March we were closed for COVID, which was when the show was airing.
And we would watch cars drive through the parking lot, wanting to come in and see it all and drive away. And we weren't set up with online retail at that point. And so it was heart crushing for months.
And we were limited on how many hours we could be open. We were limited on how many staff we could have in the store. Like there was a lot of limitations surrounding what we were able to do.
And it turned out that while I was filming, I could only be there an hour a week, which is not enough time to run a business. So it was unfortunate and we learned a lot. But because of it, we opened our online retail, which is so much better.
You were saying that it's like things that you can like decorate the house with, right? Like so artworks, lamps, tell us more about that.
One of my really fun things that I get to do and is such a privilege because of the show is getting to do product design. And so I work with different companies like Quorum Lighting and design overhead lighting with them that we sell nationally. Obviously, it's also on my website.
We work with Stylecraft and do art, pillows and lamps and case goods with them. We are working with Jiffon and have beautiful upholstered furniture coming this fall actually. We have rugs with Levin.
We have mirrors with Verilu's wallpaper that is beautiful peel and stick with roommates. Cabinetry that we, for people that wanna reface their cabinetry, we design cabinetry doors with front and center and they're spectacular. I just put them in my dining room.
And so we have all these beautiful product lines that I get to design every bit of it and turn it into product that can go across the world, which is super fun and get to sell it on my website, which I love.
Yeah, that's awesome. And then do you have like drop shipping kind of style? Like if somebody else is taking care of the, I imagine- 100%, yes.
We're not packing anything up.
Take the fun out of it, I'm sure.
Yes, all the fun would be very gone.
I mean, so you've really maximized kind of like, you just kind of niched down in this design kind of element thing and been able to build a brand, build things off it. How do you, what advice would you give somebody who's trying to build some kind of like multiple income stream type thing around their one niche?
You know, I think the retail store is a perfect example of, I thought I had all the time in the, like I've got time, I can do all the things, but the reality is I had four children, a husband, 10, well, no, let's see. No, we had 20 episodes that year that we filmed. So 20 houses under renovation.
I had the retail store, it was a lot to take on. And the reality is you can only do so many things well, and then COVID hits and that doesn't help anything either. So it was a calamity of errors, but it really taught me that if you just really focus in on what makes you happy, what you enjoy doing, that you really will turn that into revenue streams.
And that is what has given me a lot more satisfaction. I enjoy filming the show, that's great when we get to it, but when it's not happening, I get to do all these other crazy, amazing things like design lighting and rugs and pillows. Like that is so fulfilling, so fun.
And I get to work on projects for clients. I get to work on nonprofits that I care about that are really, really fun to do. So it's a lot more satisfying than being in all these different buckets that I can only do kind of well.
Sure, yeah, that makes tons of sense. I mean, obviously you're a driven person that is a high achiever. How do you keep yourself going?
If there, you know, what is important to you to kind of have a, do you have a daily routine? Do you have to do exercise or what's important to you?
Well, I would say I recently got the Aura Ring, which I am a giant fan of. It makes me take my steps because a lot of times I get stuck at the computer all day and then I haven't taken my steps. So that has been a game changer for me in making sure I move.
And just, I do the vibration plate every morning. We have one of those, and I think that really helps. I'll also go down there midday if I'm having a stressful day, if shipment didn't go where it was supposed to go on time or something showed up broken, I go stand on that vibration plate and get my anxiety down.
But I think the big thing that has been a priority is me. I turn it off at six o'clock, five, six o'clock. I'm all done.
And I'm not curing cancer, I'm not. I am making things really beautiful and I can't design beautiful things if I am completely stressed out, it doesn't work. Those two don't go hand in hand.
And so making time to go for a walk, eating healthy. I do a lot of, I travel a lot. And so I do IV therapy.
At least once a month, I go have IV therapy because I know that when I'm in crowds, I get tired from the traveling, I'm about to get sick. And I think the IV vitamin therapy is one of the biggest things I do for my health that is really impactful. I love PAWS over here and just around the corner from me.
And I can go in there, be relaxed, get a great dose of health, a great glass of tea and just relax for that time. And it really fills me. But I also read a lot.
I probably read a book a week on average. And so that is really my, I don't watch a lot of things, but I listen to a lot of books while I'm doing my laundry, while I'm making dinner or running errands. I've got an earbud in and I'm listening to a book.
I love it. I love it. I have a couple of questions that I'm thinking of.
In all these houses that you've renovated, are a lot of them in the foreclosure kind of condition, like the one that you're just in? And if so, what's the craziest thing you found in a house?
I would say it's at this point, in the beginning it was almost all houses in this condition, the first several seasons, but then now it's more just renovating people's homes and not nearly quite the calamity that that was. Sure. I would say the craziest thing I ever found was a mummified raccoon in the wall of a house.
That was really wild. It was a full-size, just shriveled up raccoon hanging out.
That's great.
I have pictures of that somewhere on my phone.
Yeah, I think I've found, for some reason I've found like six taxidermy squirrels. I don't know why. It seems like every house I take on has to come with a mummified, or just a taxidermy squirrel.
That's hysterical. I'd say the other interesting thing, the most fascinating thing I found, not necessarily weird was, and I don't even know how I saw this because it was literally, it was a piece of paper this big cut out of the newspaper and it was the original listing for the house. And it was a hundred year old house.
So for some reason, somebody had cut this up and we were cleaning out the trash in the room and it just caught my eye and I picked it up and the house originally sold for $18,500.
That's so wild.
And I gave it to production. I remember giving it to them. I was like, oh, this is cool.
Save this for me. And then it's gone. No idea where that went.
That's really, yeah. I don't know how you would have seen that. I mean, usually the cleanup is like, just get it all out as fast as possible.
Yeah, that was a fun find, I would say.
One of the things I've seen on social medias is that trend of like, I'm the designer and I think we should do this. And then it's like, I'm the contractor and then it interrupts, I'm the designer. I wonder if you have any fun stories or times where that's been true for you and where you have a grand design and the contractor's like, what are you talking about?
That's not possible.
I would say every single project has that happen. That is a norm for me, I would say. And I think what happens is they just, that so many projects just are like stereotypical.
People don't look outside the box. And so they just fall into a routine of just do it how we always do it. And so when you show them like, oh no, I want this triple bullnose edge countertop and I want it to waterfall like this.
They're like, what? Like, that doesn't work, we can't do it that way. Yes, you can, and let me teach you how.
And let's talk through exactly how this will get executed. And I think that that goes back to the whole, like I can envision a space completely re-imagined and I can envision how something becomes built. And I think that is like that really unique pairing of designer builder that I have where I'm not just seeing, I just want this pretty thing.
It's like, how does this all come together and make sense? And that puzzle piecing part of my brain works really well at that.
Yeah, that makes sense. You have thought through the logistics of how it's actually gonna work, even if they aren't familiar with it or whatever when you first tell them.
Well, and I will say sometimes, sometimes the way I think it should get built is not the way it should get built. But when we talk through it, it works out.
Got it, that makes sense. What about golden nuggets? You have some golden nuggets for our listeners?
Gosh, I would say, number one, rule in real estate, you make your money when you buy the house. What you pay for the house is where you make the money. So don't just fall in love with a house and pay too much for it.
Like every house has beauty in it. You can find it, get a great deal. That's the number one priority.
Two, don't be afraid. Just go for it. Like get in, get your feet wet.
What's the worst that can happen? And I think a lot of times people just are like, well, that's too much. That's too like, oh, I don't think we can do that.
But they haven't really actually asked the question if it can be done. They just think it can't. And so don't be afraid of saying yes to trying it out.
Don't get in over your head either. That's another big golden nugget is like, know what your costs are gonna be. Don't get in over your head.
You mentioned earlier, your carrying cost. It isn't just, okay, I want this kitchen to look gorgeous and I want this specialty tile, but it's gonna take six months for the tile to get here, which means you're gonna pay the mortgage on that house for six months waiting for that tile. Do you really wanna do that?
Because it just made the cost of that tile exorbitant. So have a budget in mind when you start and really, really stick to it. But make it a realistic budget also.
We just had a client that had hired the contractor to build a house. And when we went to go buy appliances and go buy plumbing and lighting, that they had a total that they felt good with with the contractor. Like I think it was a $1.5 million build. And that was the total. They didn't know how to read what the builder, like they didn't really understand, okay, well, we're budgeted this much for each item. Well, the appliance package on a $1.5 million house was like $30,000. That's like apartment kind of, that's not what you put in a million dollar house. And then their plumbing, their entire plumbing package for this enormous house was like $12,000. Well, you can't go to Home Depot and buy that.
That is so unrealistic and completely impossible to actually make happen. And it's gonna be really ugly. It's gonna be like bargain basement stuff if you do it.
So when you're reading your builder's contract, look at those lines, like price it out. Like, can you spend $30,000 on appliances and be happy? Or do you need to cut something else?
Think through it.
Yeah, that's great. That's great advice. Do you have a favorite book, a fundamental book you think everybody should read or just one you're currently enjoying?
I love reading. Like I said, I read a book a week at least. I think the best book I've ever read is Theo of Golden.
It is a new book this year or in the last five years, but it is trending big time right now. I think it is, the world would be a better place if everyone read this book. Very heartwarming character that loves beauty and art.
But I think the biggest takeaway about the book is that it's all about kindness, compassion, curiosity and being generous with your time, your attention and your resources, whether that's money or ability. So being generous in those ways that really you can change lives.
I love it. What was the name again?
Theo of Golden. Alan Levy is the author and he is a brilliant person. He self-published, wrote, edited, self-published the book himself and it is on every bestselling list right now.
Okay, cool. Where can people find more? What's your social media?
Where are you active? How can they find more about you?
You can find me on Instagram, @TamaraDay or our design page, which is Tamara Day Design. So if you wanna hear about my life and what's happening, some design, some family, some of my favorite stuff, Tamara Day. If you wanna learn more about our design programs and what we do in design and what projects we're working on, you can go to Tamara Day Designs or our website is Tamara Day as well, TamaraDay.com.
Well, Tamara, it's been a lot of fun talking to you. Thanks so much for being on the show.
Absolutely, thanks for having me.
Thanks for listening to the REI Agent.
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All content in the show is not investment advice or mental health therapy. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.
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