HGTV's Egypt Sherrod: 'As a woman you have to work that much harder' than men in real estate

BY: GIBSON JOHNS

According to Egypt Sherrod, the well-known star behind one of HGTV's most beloved shows, "Property Virgins," success doesn't come easily in real estate -- a fact that proves especially true for women.

"It's a man's business," Sherrod says of the real estate industry. "As a woman coming to the table you have to work that much harder and really be on your A-game."

When it came to her newest venture -- "Flipping Virgins," another HGTV show focused on coaching real estate newbies through the process of flipping homes and overcoming the hurdles that comes with that process -- Sherrod admits that she was a bit anxious about how it (and she) would be received.

"Truth be told, I was nervous," she confesses. "Even though I get dirty and flip houses and do what needs to be done, I still like to wear my high-heels and dress nicely. But [on "Flipping Virgins"] people will see me without any of that -- you'll see my with my hair pulled back and looking a hot mess and my Timberland boots on."

"I'm a girl's girl," she says.

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Not only that, but flipping houses is no easy task. As she outlines for us and demonstrates on her new show, the process of flipping a property involves making difficult decisions in order to stay on budget and trying to check your emotions at the door in order to not get too attached.

"Flipping houses is not easy. There really is a science, and a formula to flipping houses that you have to understand if you don't want to take on a huge loss."

Though she says that "we are in a climate where people now want to get in and build their nest egg to get money for retirement," people should be advised to refrain from jumping right in -- it's crucial for first-time flippers to do their homework.

"Staying on budget -- especially for newbies -- is always the biggest challenge," Sherrod says. "First-time flippers and first-time investors 9 times out of 10 will also make the mistake of getting attached to the property because they're proud of themselves.



"It even gets to the point sometimes that they'll cry when they sell it -- it happens on the show!"

How has Sherrod learned all of these crucial rules to investing and flipping? Her own personal experience. One thing that makes Sherrod such a breath of fresh air is her willingness to call attention to mistakes that she's made in the past and demonstrate how those mistakes have informed her successes.

"When you become an investor, the first thing you hear about it 'sweat equity,' or the importance of being willing to roll up your sleeves, get in, get dirty, and get a lot of things done yourself so that you can increase your profit margin. But there are some things that you should stay very far away from. And it took me falling through the roof at one of my investing properties to learn that."



"Lesson learned," she laughs. "It's worth it to bite the bullet and go ahead and pay a roofer."

Now, after all of these personal experiences, she's "in the position now where I can teach you how to shortcut it and teach you what not to do so that every flip is a success."

When it comes to "Flipping Virgins," Sherrod remained tight-lipped on what we could expect from the season. But she did say that "it's emotionally based" and that "there are high stakes."

"This is real -- people are flipping houses with their real money. It isn't a game. You'll see stress and arguing, but you'll also see me coaching them through it."

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