Property Wars returns, offering fans both big scores, money pits

Think you know a diamond in the rough? In the high-stakes world of housing auctions, Phoenix, Arizona leads the nation. On Discovery Channel’s Property Wars, some bidders see a lost cause where others see a pile of gold, just waiting to be painted and flipped. But, when one can only see the house from the outside before bidding, a home that looks great on the outside can be a disaster on the inside—or vice versa.

Home flipping is definitely a high-risk, high-stress gamble, and not for the weak or inexperienced:

Big Pride, Big Mistakes

This season, Property Wars is back, with aggressive buyers at the top of their games competing to snatch up the most profitable houses recently put up for auction by the county courts. And this is not your grandma's silent auction, to be sure. As their bidders stand by at the courthouse, buyers are given only minutes to investigate a house before the bidding starts. They're not allowed to view the interior until after it's bought, so they must rely on a combination of gut instinct and experience to figure out if each house is worth their investment. But the properties themselves aren't the only factors in this high stakes bidding match; rivalries between buyers lead to fierce bidding wars to get the homes—and sometimes big, big mistakes in the name of pride.

So, who will be bidding in the Property Wars this season?

• Doug Hopkins: Commonly referred to as the King of the East Valley, is an assertive veteran buyer with over twenty years of experience.
• Scott Menaged and Lou Amoroso: Two abrasive New Yorkers, are determined to get any property they desire and they have no qualms about offending fellow buyers in the process.
• Ed Rosenberg and Steve Simons: Recent transplants from Los Angeles, believe that the best way to make a big profit is to take calculated risks, but their inexperience still gets them into trouble.
• John Ray: A longtime Phoenix real estate buyer who uses his intimate knowledge of the local market and building codes to seek out unique houses that can turn to gold.

Do You Know Bargains from Money Pits?

Who will wind up with a bargain and who will get sucked into a money pit? On this season of Property Wars, follow teams of buyers and bidders squaring off in hopes of carving out their own sections of the Phoenix market. From the quick down-and-dirty investigation of the houses which can only be viewed from the outside, to the heated auctions themselves, through the surprising inspections that reveal the insides of the houses for the first time, profits and losses are tallied to see who makes the best deal and who goes bust. Whether going after a run-down property in one of Phoenix's toughest neighborhoods, a sprawling custom mansion, or a ranch out in the desert, these guys are all determined to walk away with the best deal of the day.

Season two of Property Wars kicks off on the Discovery Channel on January 10 at 10/9c.

UPDATED: Season premiere kicks off tonight

Image: Discovery Channel

Video: Discovery Channel/Property Wars