For HGTV stars Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama, their first house flipping experience was a wild ride — one that changed their lives forever. See what the “Renovation Aloha” stars said about how a deal that fell through became the ultimate win for them.
Tristyn & Kamohai Kalama Reveal Details Behind First House Flip
In their August 24 Substack entry, the couple take fans back to the beginning, sharing the specifics of their first house flip experience.
“We had been flipping for about a year and a half, and we knew we wanted to keep going and growing,” they wrote. “We were enrolled in a mentorship program, constantly learning, asking questions, and trying to absorb as much information as we could.”
“We didn’t know everything. We didn’t have all the answers. But we were willing to learn from people who had already done it and then take action,” they explained.
The couple continued, “At the time, we were young, raising two little babies, and trying to figure it all out. But we were ready. We were eager. And we were willing to work.”
“For an entire year, Tristyn wrote down the same sentence: ‘I will own a home in Kailua, where I was born and raised.’ That prayer became our anchor,” they shared.
Things Took a Turn With the House Flip & Changed Their Lives in an Unexpected Way
The couple noted, “The funny thing is, we had gotten into real estate in the first place because we wanted to eventually own a home where we grew up. We didn’t know exactly how we were going to make that happen, but we knew we wanted it.”
“And then, somehow, by God’s grace, the opportunity landed right in front of us,” the explained. “And we almost missed it.”
They got to work on a home in need of a lot of work. “We bought it using traditional investment financing, and our plan was simple: Fix it. Sell it. Make money,” they explained. “We were in escrow with a buyer and expecting to make around $500,000 on the house.”
Tristyn and Kamohai called it “a life changing amount of money” that would “change absolutely everything for us,” allowing them to pay off debt and buy a home for themselves.
They had buyers lined up but they got “cold feet.”
“Tristyn was freaking out,” they recalled. “But we’ll never forget what happened next. In the middle of all that worry, she felt an incredible sense of calm come over her. A gentle whisper saying: ‘You said you wanted a house.'”
“We looked at each other. We didn’t have to say much. We both knew. This house wasn’t meant to be sold. It was meant to be ours,” they shared.
All of their praying paid off in such an unexpected way. “So we pivoted. Instead of selling, we decided to keep the property and use the BRRRR strategy: Buy. Rehab. Rent. Refinance. Repeat. We did everything except the rent part,” they shared. “That decision became the beginning of our journey as real estate owners, not just flippers.”
They added, “Today, that property is a rental. It generates cash flow. But more importantly, it became proof to us that real estate works and that sometimes God’s plan looks very different from the one you had imagined.”
They expected that they would make $500,000 from their flip. “Instead, we ended up with a home. Our first flip was by no means a success but it was proof that another way existed … and that it was possible.”
They shared that their success “all started with one little house.”
“It gave us confidence. It gave us proof. It gave us a foundation. And ultimately, it helped build us,” they added.
