tonight on "nightline," real estate wives. call them the new home wreckers, putting their family's funds on the line to construct a dream house. out of a renovation nightmare. will they flip or flop? plus, he's back. captain america, taking up the shield once again. and you've got backup. we're going behind the scenes with the super hero cast. >> hyper drive. >> and he's a kid, a 3-year-old. . his dad and a pinch of magic. one professional animator takes

playtime amazing new heights.

tonight, you're going to meet women taking bigs risks. what does it take to take a home wreck and make it into a dream home. >> for the last few months, cam and i have been redoing a house together that we're going to flip. i have to say, it's going great. >> take it from "modern family" trying to flip houses is not for

the weak hearted. >> now we know why david couldn't afford any clothes. >> it turns out, clief does imitate art. >> this is the only bathroom? >> it is the only bathroom. >> it's monday morning and we're in charlotte, north carolina, following a pair of real house flippers. >> do you know anything about the electrical or the pluming? >> i don't think it's been updated. >> two women who have been in real estate for decades looking for their next big score. but this property looks like a home buyer's nightmare. 1,100 square feet of hidden horrors. >> i saw from the exteriors, the windows would have to be replaced. >> there's definitely a good bit of wood rot. >> wood rot, dated bathroom and a special surprise in the master closet. >> i don't imagine this is just kind of put paint on it, fix it up. this is a major redo. >> with the housing market improving since the crash of 2008, home flippers are taking advantage of the turnaround.

>> what did you think of this one? >> well, it's a lot of work. >> but it would be a great proper city to flip. >> flips in north carolina are up 35% in the last year with flippers averaging $37,000 gross profit per property. kim and maria say this $175,000 property with the right renovations and additions could sell for as much as $500,000. but there are no guarantees. >> you're looking at 35 to maybe 40. >> thousand? >> tv shows about flipping are everywhere, from "flipping vegas" to rehab addict." they make it seem like it's an investor's playground if you know what you're doing. across town, lisa, a stay at home mom and her friend armela and her sister are first-time flippers trying to get into the game.

>> a lot of people say you should never get into business with friends and family. >> we did both. >> and they're hoping there's still money to be made. >> we definitely missed the heyday of really cheap housing, but then we were worried we would have trouble reselling it. >> after losing out on six other proper r properties, they bought this modest three bedroom for $150,000. >> what did it look like when you pulled up? >> awful. >> it was awful. the kitchen floor was sinking in. you walked in and you were kind of crooked. >> the yard was a jungle. the surveyors still can't figure out exactly where the property line is. >> they put $60,000 into the project, figuring things out as they went. >> that looks like a standard. >> what do the husbands and the kids say when you told them we're flipping? >> he was a little nervous. then when we took out the

mortgage, he was a little more nervous. then when we had to put in money, he was a little more nervous. >> because it's never a sure thing. that's where the first rule of real estate comes in -- location, location, location. >> some of these properties are vacant. you would really rather be safe than sorry. >> not every market is as friendly as charlotte. >> we have to figure out if we want to tear it dun on rehab it. >> he's flipped 60 properties across the country. his latest acquisition in dallas is a 91930s bungalow. and it's become quite a challenge. >> it's not worth the effort. and this yard sucks. it sucks. >> he knows it takes a tough skin and a tough dose of reality to be successful in the flipping game. >> this can't be a first project, a second project, not a fifth project. you've been doing this for five year, then maybe you can start to look at something like this. this isn't something someone should dive into.

>> he helps first-time slippers dive into the market around the country. >> no money down, i'm going to make $100,000 in two weeks, i think people oversimplify it and they don't take enough time educating themselves. >> back in charlotte, kim and maria realize making a profit can be tough. >> to make this work as a liing, you've got to be working four to five to six. >> in a year? >> with 12 flips you should their belt, kim and maria are scouting this up and coming area. they already have one home going up on this block. >> the people that owned it and lived it in for 40 years were actually here to watch it go down. >> 313 mcdonald will be no more. >> of this used to be a 1,200 square foot home. but for $240,000, kim and maria tore it down and are completely rebuilding a 3,800 square foot house that they recently put on

the market for $950,000. >> i think the toughest thing right now is finding the deal. two years ago, you were able to find this kind of property over and over and over again. they aim for an average return of 25% to 30% on each rehabbed property. >> it's not easy. most people lose money on flips. >> i know a lot of people they can do a lot of the work themselves and then when it becomes complicated then they have to hire other people and they haven't b factored that cost in. >> we need the lighting for sure. >> and they bargain hunt for everything. because every dollar saved is another dollar in their pocket. >> when rehabbing, the key is to fix it up, not glam it out. >> not every house needs to be rehabbed to the level my wife might want to live in. it needs to be rehabbed to the neighborhood so it will sell as

any comp in the neighborhood. the first-time flip was finally finished after tearing down a wall, removing the chimney, gutting the kitchen and surviving a snake encounter. >> twice. two different ones. >> reporter: this past november, they listed the property for $275,000. >> what did you really think of this one? >> i think personally for me, we want something we can grow into. i think it's priced well. >> but even after a successful open house, they still don't have any offers. and that leads the women to seriously assess their finances and how long they can keep the house on the market. >> i think we're okay to hold till january. but every time we have to make a mortgage payment. january came and went. the house sat unsold. >> when we listed it, we had the same dream everyone else has, selling it in 30 days. it didn't quite happen that fast. >> now four months later, it's under contract for $233,000, not quite the $275,000 sale they

were expecting. they'll be splitting the $25,000 profit three ways. >> we didn't want to lose money on the deal. we definitely wanted to see if we could work together without killing reach other and we wanted to learn a lot along the way. the fact that we made money is sort of icing on the cake. i think we're likely to do it again. >> our thanks to rebecca jarvis. next, behind the scenes with the stars of "captain america: the winter soldier." vo: once upon a time there was a boy who traveled to a faraway place where villages floated on water and castles were houses dragons lurked giants stood tall and the good queen showed the boy it could all be real avo: whatever you can imagine,

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>> superheroes. they used to be the domain of common book geeks, but nowadays, hero worship is mainstream and they've got the box office success to prove it. tonight, nick watt goes behind the scenes with the cast of the new movie "captain america: the winter soldier." . they save the world, they look great in suits and now they're picking up their power once again.

>> hey, cap, how do we know the good guys from the bad guys? >> if they're shooting at you, they're bad. >> to make money, they need more than superhero geeks to buy tickets. they need comic book ignoramuses like me filing into theatres. >> that's our burden or challenge every time we set out to make a movie. it has to work on both 4re68s. >> this is ninth movie marvel has made in its interwoven superhero universe. the avengers plus all the spinoffs. and together they gross nearly $6 billion in the box office in just a few short years. this is a cultural phenomenon of our time. starring among others, robert downey jr., scarlet johansson and samuel l. jackson of nick fury as the bad ass boss. >> it's getting damn near time for you to get with that

program, cap. >> don't hold your breath. >> do you ever want to give this up and go play golf? >> no. >> never? >> i mean, i make money playing golf but i don't make the kind of money playing golf that i do making movies. >> you make money playing golf? >> doesn't everybody? >> chris ens is the very same cat that first appeared in comic books back in 1941 as a nazi hunter. in the first captain america film, he was plane old steve rogers, a 98-pound weakling. beefed up by experiments and frozen in the arctic for 730 ye -- 70 years and now he's back. thor has his hammer. cap has his shield and nothing else. >> he's old school. >> that was part of the appeal of the character. . >> and steve rogers can leap from one car to another car across the freeway and throw the shield and catch it back and can

survive a five-story fall landing on his shoulder, but he is at heart the 98-pound weakling that in early 1940s wanted to do his duty and to sign up to help his country the way everybody else was doing. >> which is why we can identify with him. >> absolutely. it all comes down to the flaw of our heros. >> the real star is this affable chap in the baseball cap. the president of the studio. >> if you had a superpower, what would it be? >> that's ridiculous. oh, i think invisibility would be good. then this chair would be empty and you would be talking to nobody, which might be preferable. >> reporter: he's a comic book geek who grew up and brought these immechanicals to life for a very wide audience. >> the movies are phenomenally successful which means the raw material are actually very good. >> that's the key.

people ask what is the secret? my answer is the source material. read the source material. they are great. >> rule number two, costumes matter. >> engine room secure. >> putting scarlet johansson in a pair of leather pants. >> always a good decision. >> number three, aside from scarlet, the movie must look great. and even as a nonconnoisseur, i admit i was excited and grasping at the gritty stunts. >> it takes a high jacking? >> nuclear war would do it, too. >> rule number four. it's important, there must be something deeper to reel in the nonaction fans. >> this film is about more than just the big set pieces and bad guy getting punched in the face. going to neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen. >> the flot revolves around

liquidating a threat to seat sometime in the future. >> who's actually keeping us safe and how are they keeping us safe. are the guns turned on us or the enemies. >> edward snowden and his recent revelations of nsa snooping. >> while we were filming all the snowden stuff came out and i couldn't believe how applicable it was to the plot we're trying to convey. it's a gray area. >> is nick fury a good guy? >> yes, he is. >> he is? >> yeah. but, you know, nick is like -- i don't want to say dick cheney, but he has his idea about how to keep the populous safe. he does what's necessary. in terms of being the super patriot that he is. >> rule five, keep the movie accessible to people like me but throw in lines and references to keep the comic book geeks very

happy. >> i watched it. and there were a lot of men at a certain age go aheaffawing at s who went right over my head. so there's a couple of different levels this is working at. >> yeah, that's fun. and they're guffaws of recognition. but if they don't over your head, it doesn't matter. it doesn't interrupt the story. >> kevin told us the next movie, black widow and captain america get it together. >> did he say that? there's no way he said that. >> you're smarter than i thought you were. >> smarter than i look, huh? >> that's not what i said. that's not what i thought. >> for night lynn in los angeles. >> captain america opens in theatres on april 4 and is coming to you from ourparent

company disney. next, a pint size hero gets a little help from a secret source. ok, what the heck is that? (director) that's beanie, your new sidekick. sidekick? you can't be serious. i get expert trading tools... (cat) he's got those traaayyyding tooooools! i get... i... can you... (cat)trayyyding tooooools, yeah! are you done? (cat) i'm gonna bundle you... gonna option you,... (cat) gonna... e... t... f... you. you know what that's it. i am done. i'm out of here. amateurs. diane! pull the car around. diane! car! i've quit for 75 days. 15 days, but not in a row. for the first time, you can use nicorette even if you slip up, so you can reach your goal. now, quit on your own terms

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>> we've all thought about what super power we would choose if we could have one. but if your dad happens to be an animator for dream works, you could have them all. 3-year-old james hashimoto flies into the sky. melts into a puddle. and leaps over lava. and even enters the matrix.

his father says a little imagination goes a long way in their household. and once he began embellishing home videos of play time, the rest of us got to enjoy the fun. hundreds of thousands of fans later, little james is a superhero all his own. action movie kid. adorable. finally tonight, a personal note. for 20 year, i have been privileged to work for abc news. for the past nine of those i have been here at "nightline." it has been the ride of a lifetime. the staff here is the best around. smart, scrappy, resourceful and i am indebted to every single one of them, and to you, our loyal viewers. i will leave for new challenges but this broadcast is in good hands. juju chang will take my spot.

so one last time, thanks for watching abc news. tune into "good morning america" tomorrow and we're on line at abcnews.com.