By LARS DOLDER, The News & Observer
BURLINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Krystal and Dedric Polite had $90,000 in loose capital when they founded a property management company in 2017. In four years, their business expanded to include more than 60 rental properties earning millions in passive income.
How they achieved that vertiginous growth is the subject of TV’s newest reality real estate show, “50/50 Flip.”
The A&E miniseries, which premiered Jan. 29, follows the telegenic Burlington residents as they evaluate 10 properties’ potentials — selecting some to flip in less than 50 days for less than $50,000 in renovation costs.
Two Triangle houses are included in the lineup and The Durham Hotel makes a special cameo in the show’s finale, the couple said.
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“This area is just exploding,” said Krystal Polite, 41. “It’s the Silicon Valley of the East Coast and there’s so much opportunity here.”
The Polites grew up in Boston before relocating to Burlington in 2012. They were successful in their respective fields. Krystal worked for an appraisal management company and Dedric in e-commerce. But they wanted to break the corporate mold and decided real estate was their best bet.
“We weren’t rich by any means,” Dedric, 40, said. “We were doing well after both of us growing up with single parents, me in Section 8 housing. We were living pretty normally like a lot of people who would be watching the show.”
In other words, “50/50 Flip” doesn’t chronicle the escapades of people immune to the risks that befall average buyers.
“What we do is attainable for the average individual,” Krystal said. “Everyone has this idea you need millions up front. We show the realistic way you can do this even with a 9-to-5…. We wanted to show people we’re real — we’re not Hollywood.”
Besides demonstrating their real estate prowess, the show is designed to be instructive. Throughout the series, the Polites explain and employ their “Four F’s” for success.
“If I boiled it down, the keys would be funding, finding, fixing and flipping,” Dedric said.
Krystal’s No. 1 tip for prospective real estate entrepreneurs: Commit your resources to education before ever investing in property.
“We spent a lot of money to attend seminars and hire counselors and mentors,” Krystal said. “But once we were ready to go, we were able to hit the ground running.”
Besides compiling an impressive portfolio of rental properties, the Polites attracted thousands of social media followers by documenting their successes and failures. The Instagram account for their company, Be Polite Properties, boasts more than 40,000 followers. That avid audience is what first attracted A&E executives in 2020.
“We had been getting calls from casting directors at different organizations for a while because they found us from our social media presence,” Krystal said. “We really didn’t want to do a show.”
But A&E promised a platform the couple couldn’t pass up. They wouldn’t have to manufacture drama — a hallmark of the reality television industry.
“What I think will set this apart, besides that I think we represent something closer to the average viewer,” Krystal said, “is that this isn’t about family drama and stuff. This isn’t Bravo. We’re showing what we do for real as a family and how people can do that, too.”
“50/50 Flip” features several North Carolina properties including ones in Raleigh and Hillsborough. Another in Mebane is on the same street where Krystal’s family settled after their emancipation from slavery.
“In a lot of ways we think this will be different than what people have seen,” Dedric said. “We didn’t want to be another flipping show. There are 1,000 of those. This isn’t 1,001.”
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