For five seasons, Flipping Vegas was one of A&E's most popular shows, with viewers captivated
in equal measure by the houses being flipped, and the couple flipping them, Scott and Amie
Yancey.
The Yanceys provided plenty of drama with their on-screen fireworks, but behind the
scenes, there were plenty of fireworks you never got to see.
Here's a look at the untold truth of Flipping Vegas.
Scott began his career at 14
Self-proclaimed real estate guru Scott Yancey is the founder of the Goliath Company, making
his first real estate deal at the age of 14.
After receiving $30,000 in an injury settlement, Scott purchased a second trust deed on a single
home, and by the time he was in college, he was cutting deals for massive housing developments
with over 3,000 lots.
Scott told Vegas Seven that his time in the real world taught him more than college ever
did.
"I'm not a college graduate.
I went to probably five colleges, and I dropped out of them all.
I have ADD.
I didn't come from money.
But you don't need money to be a real estate investor, and that's what I teach people.
I did my first land deal on my own without any of my own money, and I netted $2.3 million.
I can relate to most of the people who write to me and say, 'I'd love to do what you're
doing.
I don't like my job, but I don't have any money.'
Great, you don't have to.
You're right where I started."
Amie has a need for speed
A successful real estate agent in her own right, Amie has sold more than 700 homes since
moving to Vegas with Scott in 2004.
Like her husband, she has a penchant for speed and daredevil activities, with eight motorcycles
and a Porsche in her collection.
She also loves to ride horses, having grown up on a horse ranch in Canada.
They almost quit
Scott and Amie almost quit the real estate business all together when the market crashed
in 2007.
That idea changed after Scott overhead a conversation at a restaurant in Nevada.
As it says on Scott's website:
"At the next table, the discussion revolved around the Las Vegas real estate market and
the fact that there were homes available to buy for as little as $36,000 that would rent
out for $900 per month.
Just hearing those two numbers put Scott's real estate brain into gear.
Two things came to mind immediately, 'You make your money on the buy in Real Estate'
and 'fortunes are made in bad economies.'"
It began with a Glock
In an interview with Vegas Seven, Scott said the concept for the show was born during a
conversation with some of his buddies from Hollywood.
"I'm from the Hollywood area originally, and I was talking with some buddies who are in
the industry.
I was telling them how I had to pull my Glock out on some homeless guys who came at me with
needles in one of the houses that was all boarded up.
They're like, 'Man, you need your own reality show.'"
Good call!
Rocky start
They may seem like reality show naturals, but Scott and Amie were anything but.
Scott explained it in the introduction to his book, Go Time: How to Make Insane Money
In Your Real Estate Market"
"The filming process really wasn't the most enjoyable thing we've ever done, especially
in the hot Las Vegas weather.
First, there are all of the technical issues, like microphone and camera problems, dead
batteries, sound issues when a plane flies over or a boom box or loud stereo passes by.
My wife and I weren't fired up after the exhausting filming sequence for that initial 45 minutes
of video."
Thankfully, they soon adjusted to the rigors of filming.
The show is heavily edited
For each episode, roughly 120 to 140 hours of footage is shot, which is then edited down
to just 43 minutes.
Scott told the Las Vegas Sun that what you see is only a tiny part of their regular lives.
"The TV show usually edits in the drama.
They don't see that an hour from now, we're gonna be holding hands walking our dog somewhere.
They edit it in a way that's obviously going to be most entertaining.
They don't ever show me say 'Thank you, good job' to somebody or show us going to a restaurant
at night or in the summer on a beach."
Some of the other things you don't see?
Scott and Amie writing one of their best-selling real estate books, or working with their many
charities, including The Honor Ride, which helps wounded veterans.
Real estate scam?
After their success in real estate and on the A&E series, the couple decided to turn
their efforts toward education, launching a nation-wide series of free seminars and
workshops.
"Well for some of you, this could very well be the first step in your path to real estate
success."
But not everyone has been happy with the results, as the couple has been accused of scamming
would-be investors, with claims that the workshops are basically just an advertisement for seminars
that can cost up to $38,000!
"But the thing is, if you really have a system that works, why is it $38,000?"
"The way that he pitched it, it made a lot of sense.
But when we got there, it was absolutely nothing like how they pitched it."
"It's just totally wasn't worth it.
I was very disappointed"
So is it a scam, or merely a case of misplaced expectations?
Either way, it's a bad look for the one-time stars of Flipping Vegas.
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