In this episode of Love, Listings & Legacy, Sophaline Mao sits down with seasoned realtor and house-flipping pro Mony Nop to expose the real-world pitfalls that shock first-time flippers. From overvaluing property and underestimating renovation scope to hidden holding costs and costly permit missteps, Mony pulls back the curtain on the rookie errors that can eat your profit. They dive into hard data - his "70% of ARV" rule, a budget that doubled on cabinets, and an $8 K pool surprise - then unpack exactly how they tracked every receipt in Excel, secured proper inspections, and built in contingency buffers. Whether you're plotting your maiden flip or simply love a good behind-the-scenes story, you'll come away armed with clear, actionable takeaways and a blueprint for smarter, safer flips.

Tune in to learn:

Why emotion has no place in investment decisions

How skipping a single inspection can derail your timeline

The timing traps of market cycles and holding costs

Mony's top strategies for permits, budgets, and buffer margins

In this episode of Love, Listings, and Legacy, Sophaline Mao welcomes former Theravada Buddhist monk Prenz Sa-Ngoun for a rich exploration of Cambodian American identity and cultural preservation. Prenz shares his extraordinary journey from Seattle to Cambodia, where he spent seven years as an ordained monk learning the Khmer language, Buddhist practices, and developing the deep spiritual understanding he now brings to his community work. The conversation flows through meaningful reflections on the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge genocide, intergenerational healing, and the beauty of Cambodian New Year traditions. Listeners will gain insights into Buddhist principles of impermanence and compassion as Prenz explains his mission to bridge generational divides through his ceremonial services.

In this crossover episode of Love, Listings, and Legacy, host Sophaline Mao welcomes Rita Phetmixay from the Healing Out Lao'd podcast to explore their shared experiences as Southeast Asian refugee daughters. The two discuss growing up in different environments - Rita in small-town North Carolina facing racism, Sophaline in California's vibrant Southeast Asian community - and how these backgrounds shaped their identities. They uncover family secrets, including parents who escaped war zones, half-siblings discovered later in life, and the difficult choices made during conflict. Their conversation examines generational trauma, mental health challenges, and cultural silences that persist 50 years after displacement from their ancestral homelands. Rita and Sophaline share their journeys of reconnection with their Laotian and Cambodian heritage, highlighting how today's young Southeast Asians are proudly reclaiming their cultural roots through education, community building, and storytelling.