It all started in 2019. Or was it 2012? Maybe it was back in 1981, when a young woman gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Lyndsay. And then, much to her shock, out came another equally lovely baby, Leslie, a few minutes later.

It was a TV-ready plot twist that may have just been a harbinger of their future careers.

The family moved to Snohomish when the girls were preteens, and the surprise twins have stayed in the area, now raising families of their own, running a real estate/design/renovation business, and, most famously, hosting an HGTV show called Unsellable Houses, now in its fourth season.

“We never get bored in this industry and that’s a big thing for us because we like to be moving and active and changing things up,” Leslie Davis says.

Lyndsay Lamb was the first to venture into real estate, back in 2009. Davis came on in 2012 to help out while Lamb’s son was being treated at Seattle Children’s Hospital. But when her sister was able to return at full capacity, Davis realized she didn’t want to leave the company. “I think it’s pretty awesome that we can work as family and still keep our relationship,” she says. “I didn’t realize how many people weren’t able to work as family.”

The premise of the show is this: When a house has been on the market longer than expected, the twins come in and evaluate why. (The name is a little hyperbolic, as nothing featured is really unsellable—just perhaps not fetching what it could.) Using their own money, they spruce up the parts of the house they think will give them the biggest return on investment for resale—often targeting curb appeal, outdated kitchens, and flooring that’s seen better days. If all goes to plan, they sell the home for well above the original list price, recoup their investment, and then split the profits with the homeowner.

Though it may seem like a made-for-TV concept, Davis and Lamb actually had this business model—on a smaller scale—before film crews came knocking. The sisters credit the show’s appeal to its DIY slant, with plenty of tips for homeowners who don’t have the benefit of reality TV real estate agents who double as renovators. Self-described “people people,” the sisters say they could’ve been happy doing anything high on the extroversion spectrum, but they’re glad to have landed where they did.

There is an art to what they do, a fine balancing act between appealing to the masses and making the listing stand out from the sea of houses longing for residents. “We do have to look at it with completely different goggles on than when we’re designing someone’s forever home,” Lamb says. “I want to be creative, I want to set the home apart—people are searching on these little six-inch screens they can hold in their hand; there has to be something that catches their eye real quick—but it can’t be so far that they’re saying, No, that’s not for me.”

There is a balance to the twins, too, a yin and yang that helps them succeed. Lamb is the designer, the artsy one who is always looking to paint a front door a neon hue or add an accent wall, while Davis is the penny pincher, keeping a close eye on the bottom line. “Do you know what the word budget means?” she asks her sister in the first episode.

Known for their playful banter and vintage Volkswagen buses—they’ve driven VWs since high school—the twins have gained a following by letting their natural personalities shine through the screen. It was YouTube videos of them toting clients around in a VW while jamming out to the likes of Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake that caught the eye of a production company and ultimately led to the development of Unsellable Houses, which debuted in 2019.

While they’ve always been outgoing and silly, their dynamic has changed over time. Growing up, Davis tended to call the shots, and now it’s Lamb who takes the lead. “I think I just have gotten tired, or I have so many kids now,” says Davis, a mother of three boys.

When Davis asks Lamb to agree with her assessment, they get into the kind of back-and-forth that draws viewers to watch the show.

Lamb: I agree wholeheartedly. I’m over here with my jaw on my ground that you said I’m in charge.

Davis: As if you’re not. Hey, I’ll be in charge if you want.

Lamb: No, I am in charge. I just like to hear you admit it.

Davis: Oh, I know it. I don’t like it, but I know it. I still have to push back to keep you in line.

Lamb: I’m currently recording this entire thing because I love the fact that you’re admitting I’m in charge. I’ve gathered the entire company to hear this.

Davis: Oh, perfect.

A little levity is helpful, especially in today’s real estate market. In the first episode of the current season, a couple living in Shoreline was ready to decamp from the PNW back to the East Coast. They’d already bought a new house and were carrying two mortgages, so time was of the essence. But after weeks of renovations, a $100,000 investment from the sisters, and the hope of selling the refreshed home for $999,900 ($150K more than the original listing price), the house sat on the market for 13 weeks and ultimately went for $950K, resulting in no profit to split.

“In season 4, you will see that I’m making Lyndsay live a little bit more in a box than I have before,” Davis says. “We haven’t had this tough of a market when on the show.”

Despite the challenging conditions, the twins say there’s still a lot to love about real estate in the Pacific Northwest. That includes the variety of home styles, from Craftsman and Queen Anne to Tudor and modern, and the variety of industries here.

“We’re not reliant on one job economy,” Lamb says. “We’ve got several. It’s not just aerospace, it’s not just technology, it’s not just the ports, it’s not just the military bases—there are so many strong [industries] around here.”

With rising interest rates, buyers are taking more time to consider home purchases. They might tour a home several times, a stark contrast from not so long ago when same-day offers well over asking price were the norm. Still, that doesn’t worry the twins.

While their life may look a little different now that they get recognized outside their tight community in Snohomish—where they still run into their junior high principal and know everyone at the grocery store—some things never change.

“As far as our friendship and connection and loyalty to each other and undying partnership, we’ve always been as connected as we are today,” Davis says. “You weren’t friends with Leslie if you weren’t also friends with Lyndsay. We’re each other’s ride or die.”

And they’ll be riding, of course, in a VW bus.