Neglected to New: Flipping Down South

Spotlighting PLACE Partners’ Feel-Good Mission

A&E’s latest remodeling show spotlights unwavering commitment by PLACE’s Cody J. Cummings and Paul Mielke to reviving Alabama communities

Alabama communities like Birmingham are dotted with unlivable properties — ranging from historic mansions to one-bedroom homes — resulting in hundreds of house fires and millions of dollars in property losses. In response, Birmingham is demolishing hundreds of properties across 99 neighborhoods (with more planned) to address years of citizen concerns. PLACE Partners Cody J. Cummings and Paul Mielke decided to approach the problem with a novel solution, revitalizing abandoned properties and returning them to the community at a fair price. Their mission impressed the A&E television network so much they invested in the journey with a national home-improvement show “Flipping Down South.”

Before the duo’s collaboration, Cummings’ expertise was in single-family real estate; collaborating with Mielke opened up new investment possibilities. Leverage from operating their respective real estate teams, The Apollo Property Group and Monroe Park Homes, powered by PLACE, allowed them to pursue a second income stream through their partnership.

“When you’re an agent selling and selling, you have to keep the cash flow going, so it’s hard to step back and find profitable investment opportunities,” Cummings says. “The solution to that problem was partnership with another agent. Our businesses are profitable, but they could always be more profitable, which turned us toward another strategic partnership with PLACE.”

Doing Good While Maintaining A Profit

The pair discovered their dedication to affordable housing presented a challenge. The price point is lower while overhead is unchanging, so volume must rise. Challenges to their mission arose. Case in point: accept a firm’s quick cash offer for a classic 1915, Tudor-style home, or sell it to a single homeowner with a lower offer. While there aren’t many cash offers in affordable housing, there are plenty of contracts falling through. There are also people struggling to pay what they can to build wealth. They sold the property to the homeowner. No other choice would abide by their values to serve the community first.

They tweaked their business to include some luxury real estate to uphold a healthy balance sheet. This practice has become integral in delivering and protecting affordable homeownership in areas where the community is crying out for improvement.

Through conversation with PLACE CoFounder Ben Kinney, Cummings and Mielke decided on yet another stream of income: holding real estate instead of selling immediately. Flipping houses isn’t an investment, it’s revenue generation.

Holding property as it appreciates is investing. Cummings’ ongoing industry education has changed his conversations with clients. He now finds himself, when he discovers a client is selling, suggesting they hold the property and buy another. Repeat.

“An agent’s job is to give their people access to wealth,” Cummings emphasizes. “People don’t know about home equity lines of credit or how to cash-out refinance. As their real estate professionals, we owe it to them to learn more and provide them with all the information.”

The team’s current focus is guiding former clients through the process of establishing rental portfolios, with the goal of homeowners ultimately having more equity in their own communities.

“People deserve stake in their neighborhoods. It gives them a seat at the table when decisions are made,” Mielke adds.

Where To Watch Flipping Down South

Catch Season 1 of “Flipping Down South,” on Hoopla, DIRECTV, A&E or free (with ads) on Pluto TV. Or purchase on Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, and Vudu.