'Property Brothers' spruce up fixer-uppers in East Bay

The wildly popular "Property Brothers" (aka twins Jonathan and Drew Scott) descended on the Bay Area for the first time, turning two East Bay fixer-uppers into homes that are now selling for about $1 million. 

Valerie Crowell of Walnut Creek was the lucky Keller Williams Realtor who sold the brothers the pair of homes back in October for about half the asking price.

“They wanted junky homes in Oakland,” Crowell recalled. “And I told them I could find them those all day.”

But Crowell had to work within the budget of the producers of HGTV’s program, where the twins buy fixer-uppers and transform them into dream homes. 

She couldn’t find anything within the $500,000 budget in Oakland. So she ventured out a bit. 

Crowell ended up finding one home in Pinole, which Drew Scott remodeled in a “creative way,” and the second one in El Sobrante, where Jonathan Scott put in some “really incredible design features that are really super cool that I can’t talk about,” Crowell said.

Both properties were in need of major repairs, she said. One hadn't been lived in for five years. The other was in probate and hadn't been updated for a long time. (Most everything is a secret until Brother vs. Brother airs on May 23, the premiere of Season 6, which will feature these homes.) 

Crowell said she was connected to the twins through someone she’s known in the business for years, adding that she was pleasantly pleased to get a call from the producers of the show.

As for the Scott brothers? “They are so talented. They are also some of the sweetest, nicest guys you’ll ever meet. They’re as nice in person as they are on the show.” 

The homes are actually for sale and the proceeds will go to charity.