Peter Souhleris and Dave Seymour, the squabbling contractors on A&E’s “Flipping Boston,” like many couples, met via the Internet.
“I wanted to learn the basics of real estate ?investing,” said Seymour, who was a firefighter in Lynn for 16 years before he took up house flipping with Souhleris.
“I had done construction on the side, as many firefighters do, and I saw his ad on craigslist. He was doing a lot of condo conversions, turning three-deckers into nice condos.”
“So we met,” said Souhleris.”
“And fell in love,” joked Seymour.
And the rest is history … The guys — who, lest you get the wrong idea, are only work partners — just started their third season of rehabbing some of the ?ugliest houses in and around Boston on their real estate reality show.
“Some of the transformations we do are pretty cool,” Souhleris said. “And we’re really proud of some of the episodes this season.”
On the show that aired over the weekend, ?Peter and Dave helped former New England Patriot Jermaine Wiggins redo a single-family home in East Boston.
In an upcoming episode, Attorney General Martha Coakley makes the scene to check out the crack house in Medford the guys ?remodeled as part of a program to restore abandoned property.
But the show Peter and Dave are the most proud of is the one in which they rehab a house for Boston Marathon survivor Paul Norden of Stoneham, who lost a leg in the attack (as did his brother, J.P.), and Paul’s ?fiancee, Jackie Webb.
“It was a good group ?effort,” Souhleris said. “The contractors donated their labor, we got donated materials, A&E chipped in some money. It’s a really beautiful home, all handicapped-accessible. And now we’re looking for another one to do for J.P.”
The partners, who run City Light Homes in Peabody, say the real estate market in the greater Boston area has turned around dramatically and there are no longer tons of foreclosures and short sales to scoop up and flip.
“So we go back to the grassroots market, motivated sellers, people with problem properties,” Dave said. “What makes us a success is the formula we follow,” Peter said. “The show kind of portrays us as a bunch of cowboys, but we know our numbers and that’s the reason we’ve been a success.”
New episodes of “Flipping Boston” air at noon on Saturdays and at aetv.com.