Page Turner is best known for her work on HGTV’s “Flip or Flop Nashville,” where she renovated run-down homes with her ex-boyfriend (and former football star turned contractor) DeRon Jenkins. Now, Turner is out on her own!

In her new solo show, “Fix My Flip” (which premieres March 10 at 9 p.m. ET/PT), Turner uses her expertise to help rookie real estate investors turn their doomed projects into big profits.

Find out how you can, too, in this exclusive interview, where she also reveals some smart advice for first-time homebuyers, easy renovations that bring a nice return on investment, and her absolute favorite bathroom feature, which is all but disappearing from homes today.

On your new show, you help novice flippers turn a profit. What was your biggest flipping mistake early on?

I have so many! No. 1 is: I didn’t get a mentor, somebody to just help me with what I was doing. People think it’s like this little side hustle, but it’s a full-time job. And I didn’t have any guidance.

I ran out of money, and this was way before I really understood what hard money lending was. I just thought, “Oh, I’ll just put in $20,000 that I have saved up,” and I got in—and I was stuck. I was embarrassed to ask somebody for help. I didn’t know how to say “Hey, I’m $20,000 over budget, what do I do?”

What went wrong with that flip?

Everything that could happen happened—pipes were bursting, the electrical panel was so old the whole house needed to be rewired. It was a money pit, and I just did not know how to stop the bleeding. When I think about that house, I get mad at myself, because I was stupid to buy to begin with, and I just didn’t know what I was doing.

Now, with all the homes you’ve renovated under your belt, what would you say is your own personal favorite room?

Oh, a fabulous bathroom. All my children have graduated from college, so where I once would have said an open concept with a great kitchen and a huge pantry, that has changed to: I love my bathroom so much!

One that’s nice and bright and airy and open is what I want and would need to have. I just like to come home and soak. Some people are getting rid of tubs in home renovations, but it’s my favorite feature.

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Even if they aren’t flipping, a lot of homeowners want to spruce up their homes. What’s your best budget-friendly upgrade?

Paint, especially if you can do it yourself. Maybe change out a fixture here or there. A bathroom vanity fixture goes a long way with upgrading a bathroom.

Buying a home is difficult these days, particularly for first-time homebuyers. Any advice to help them?

It’s such a historical high market, it breaks my heart when it seems on paper that people can purchase a home, but when they get into the real amounts of money—down payment and closing costs—they find they’ve priced themselves out of that monthly payment.

So you may need to take more time, save as much as you can. You may have to move a little farther from where you work. And there are still down payment assistance programs out there.

Most important is finding a really good real estate agent and lending partner that can put a great plan together for you and tell you how many options are out there.

For example, a lot of people don’t realize if you’re a retired or active VA vet, there are 100% loan programs, with no limit to how much house you can buy.

Any recommendation on what kind of home first-time homebuyers should try to buy?

House hack: If at all possible, find a home where you have multiple units where you can live in one and rent out or Airbnb the other. It can be a great source of extra income, really for homebuyers at any age.

A lot of people are looking into flipping homes these days. Got any advice for them?

No. 1, realize that it’s not a side hustle—it’s a true business where you need to have a strong business plan.

No. 2, find a mentor. You might have to pay, but just partner them in with the profit that you make from the flip, so you have somebody that can help you along the way.

And No. 3, always pad your budget! I pad all of my budgets at least 10%, because there will always be an unknown in every flip.

I promise that if you have that extra money sitting there, you won’t be stressed about having to get it.

The post Exclusive: HGTV Star Page Turner of ‘Fix My Flip’ Reveals a First-Time Homebuyer Mistake That Breaks Her Heart appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.