Clint Harp was merely a husband and father making an attempt to supply for his household when an opportunity encounter modified his life. Whereas he went on to turn into a profitable carpenter with a preferred store in Waco, Texas, after that includes on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ massively widespread HGTV present, “Fixer Higher,” he confronted a collection of adversities on his journey to the highest. From his poor background Harp needed to work onerous to search out monetary stability. But when he snagged a high-paying job in gross sales, he discovered himself depressing.

Commercial

Harp dreamed of being a woodworker, a commerce he discovered from his maternal grandfather. Nonetheless, his determination to pursue his ardour left his household in a fragile state of affairs. However luck was on his aspect. In early 2012, Harp and his household stopped for gas on their method to the park when Chip Gaines pulled into the identical fuel station. Harp had heard about Chip and Joanna Gaines, who had been common native renovators earlier than their HGTV fame.

New on the town, Harp approached him, considering perhaps he would have some recommendations on tips on how to break into the business. “That was in February or March of 2012. In October, we had been taking pictures ‘Fixer Higher,'” he instructed The Columbus Dispatch in 2016. Nonetheless, his newfound fame got here with its personal set of difficulties. From dealing with authorized challenges regarding one among his houses to experiencing uncertainty amid the tip of “Fixer Higher” and the launch of Magnolia Community, Harp’s life earlier than and after his HGTV success has had ups and downs.

Commercial

Clint Harp is happy with his roots. He discovered his craft from his grandfather, in any case. But it surely wasn’t all the time simple. “I got here from a background the place we had what we wanted, however we by no means had greater than that. And by ‘wanted’ it was absolutely the fundamentals,” he instructed the Houston Chronicle in 2018. Harp was raised by his mom and a stepfather who consistently moved seeking jobs. Harp by no means had the time to settle and struggled to mix with friends in his second-hand garments and nerdy character.

Commercial

They may not disguise their monetary state of affairs, and folks’s makes an attempt to assist them out typically felt like humiliation. One time, he noticed a rubbish bag exterior their residence. Upon inspection, he realized it contained used garments for them. Harp additionally did not have a correct room rising up. When he lived in Asheville, North Carolina, he felt just like the luckiest child when his mom assigned him the basement. “I cherished it and had the best room with doorways like these Western saloon doorways. I might stroll out of my room like I used to be the Sundance Child,” he stated.

Sadly, the basement developed a mildew downside and he needed to vacate his cool quarters. “My mother transformed the eating room upstairs into my bed room. She hung a sheet over the doorways and stated that might be my bed room,” he stated. Harp is not ashamed of his previous. “I am grateful for these days,” he instructed the Austin American-Statesman. “They hold me grounded.”

Commercial

Clint Harp has been enthusiastic about woodworking since childhood, however life took him in a distinct route. Despite the fact that he graduated from Baylor College with a enterprise diploma, he did not get a job straight away. As an alternative, he moved to Florida to be a youth minister. He and his spouse, Kelly Harp, then moved to Europe to begin new church buildings, a challenge that left them indebted to the IRS and downright broke. They returned to Dallas, the place Clint supplied for his household by means of completely different jobs, together with mortgage licensing and promoting copiers.

Commercial

He ultimately landed a high-earning job in medical gross sales in Houston. For the primary time, the Harps loved monetary stability. He was good on the job, however his conscience struggled with taking cash from sufferers. He gave up his six-figure wage and took a leap of religion. The household moved to Waco, Texas, the place Kelly went to grad faculty at Baylor, and he launched Harp Design Co. “My spouse bravely stepped out into the unknown, and we did it,” he stated within the Austin American-Statesman interview.

However his dream of constructing furnishings for a residing began off on the improper foot. “About 4 months later, we had been out of cash, issues weren’t trying good. It was a really disturbing time. I assumed, ‘I am an fool for quitting my job,'” he stated within the interview with The Columbus Dispatch. Then he stopped on the fuel station Chip Gaines pulled into and bought his dream profession and extra.

Commercial

Jimmy Carter’s loss of life in December 2024 saddened hundreds of thousands of People who admired the thirty ninth president of the US. However for Clint Harp, it was private. When he was a toddler in Atlanta, his grandmother labored on the Carter Presidential Library, the place she befriended the previous president. Harp grew up round Carter, each of whom may be seen within the image above. “My grandmother’s the individual I respect most on the planet, so if she thought extremely of any individual, I assumed they had been superior,” he instructed Home Stunning in 2018.

Commercial

In his Instagram tribute, Harp highlighted his admiration for Carter’s accomplishments throughout his tenure as president and afterward and in addition his admiration for him as a citizen and household buddy. “I hope greater than something that we’ll ultimately sooner or later search for somebody who resembles your coronary heart and management if even by solely a fraction. Anyhow, thanks a lot…. and in addition I hate to ask extra of you, however I’ll…. Please please give my grandmother Ann an enormous hug for me. I am certain she was there to greet you immediately similar to she did all these years on the Carter Middle,” he wrote.

That was hardly the one time Harp honored Carter on social media. Two months earlier, he had celebrated the previous president’s one hundredth birthday on October 1, 2024, with a heartfelt Instagram publish. “Could all of us really feel your peaceable guiding hand on our shoulder,” he penned. 

Commercial

Clint Harp’s life flipped on its head when “Fixer Higher” aired in 2013. And it did as soon as once more amid its cancellation in 2018, primarily as a result of he did not see it coming. He discovered that Season 5 can be the final by means of the identical on-line announcement that permit the remainder of us find out about it. “I used to be unhappy,” he stated within the Austin American-Statesman interview. However he did not maintain it in opposition to Chip and Joanna Gaines.

Commercial

In spite of everything, he had no contract with “Fixer Higher” and was glad for the chance afforded by the Gaineses. “It was a tremendous chapter in everybody’s life, however I am so comfortable for them. They’ve labored so onerous,” he stated. Harp remained shut with the couple, who continued to offer him alternatives after “Fixer Higher.” When DIY Community morphed into Chip and Joanna’s Magnolia Community, the Gaineses gave Harp his personal present, “Restoration Highway,” which ran for 5 seasons between 2021 and 2024.

However there was a tense second when Chip and Joanna struck their deal to take over DIY Community, the place Harp had been internet hosting the present “Wooden Work.” As soon as once more, he was blindsided by the choice. “I am simply listening to this information together with the remainder of America,” he instructed Folks in 2019. Nonetheless, he emphasised how he hoped to proceed to stay across the community in its new format. “As for me, I am going to now be diving again into conversations with producers and networks about some nice potential tasks,” he added. It labored.

Commercial

In Season 1 of “Fixer Higher,” Chip and Joanna Gaines helped Clint and Kelly Harp renovate a 1913 property for them to name residence. However as a result of the home was proper subsequent to Harp Design Co., the Harps felt their private {and professional} lives turned intermingled. Moreover, the elevated site visitors to their store following the success of the HGTV present jeopardized their privateness. In order that they moved out and put the elegant fixer-upper up on Airbnb as a trip rental. 

Commercial

The house’s 4.95 stars on the platform instructed placing it up for lease was an ideal thought. But it surely proved fairly dangerous. In 2018, Clint was sued by a former visitor who claimed she bought damage after falling down the steps throughout a 2016 keep. Tamra Rivera argued that the Harps did not adjust to native laws by not including handrails to the underside a part of the staircase. “The only reason for this accident is the unreasonably harmful nature of the staircase,” the go well with argued (through the Waco Tribune-Herald).

Rivera requested for between $200,000 and $1 million. In 2024, Realtor.com famous that the Harps confronted a number of lawsuits regarding their Waco residence. This will have contributed to the difficulties Clint had find a purchaser. Whereas he initially listed it for $899,000 in 2021, he offered it for less than $550,000 in 2024. “These varieties of issues will completely detract any investor from buying a property like that as a result of they do not need to tackle legal responsibility that may very well be prevented,” actual property agent Amber Brown defined.

Commercial