Buying a "Flipped" House

DH and I will be looking at a flipped house on Monday.

What specific things should we be noting about the flip? MY main concern is the quality of the work. I mean the pictures look great and I am sure the house will look great in person as well, but I feel like some of the bells and whistles can be a distraction.

If you have flipped houses or have bought a flip, please feel free to provide any additional information we should be aware of.

TIA!

Re: Buying a "Flipped" House

I live in a flipped house. My only complaints are:

Hardwood Floors..look nice, but there is a gap between some of the boards. So look closely.

Horribly ineffecient new central a/c system. The upper level of the house is about 20 degrees warmer than the lower level and there is virtually no output from the vents.

Drafty windows (although they are new)

Cheap shelf pins in the kitchen cabinets. I've lost many dishes because the shelves kept falling down.

Oh, and the front door was put in before the new floor, so it drags on the floor when you open it.

Dishwasher was put in crappy...it moves back when you close it.

The dryer vent didn't work either..had to run a whole new one. Not sure how you would check that unless they have a dryer hooked up already.

Like the poster below said, check out EVERY SINGLE detail!

Fortunately I don't own this place, I rent, so it isn't that big of a deal. Just things I'll have to tackle down the road if I buy.

Message edited 6/20/2009 9:46:46 PM.

Re: Buying a "Flipped" House

OMG look closely at every detail... we have unfinished tile work and shoddy painting... including pained shut windows. One toilet isn't screwed ? down. The medicine cabinets weren't screwed/glued/whatever into the wall. The dishwasher didn't work and there was no water to the fridge. No rods in the closets or the curtains - not even any screw holes... there were many more issues. LOL We got a lot fixed by them but they wouldn't do everything.

It was nice getting a lot of new things but it's also been a PITA.

I would just look at EVERY detail... there were some things we didn't even notice when we were looking. And some things became issues after - like the bathroom door that now rubs against the frame and makes a horrible squealing sound when we open or close it.

We were mislead about why the house was flipped, but even so, I would never buy a flip again.

Re: Buying a "Flipped" House

We looked at a flipped house before we bought the house we live in now.

Basically, our offer to buy the house was accepted and we had our inspection. Things were not the greatest, but I thought we could deal woth it.

Thankfully, my dad and brother are both electricians and looked at the house for us. My dad said there is no way he is letting his future grandchild sleep in this house. The electric was so messed up, he couldn't even get past the front to see what was really going on.

So, we pulled our offer and found our house now. Thankfully again, we hadn't signed a contract so we didn't really loose any money except for the inspection, which was worth the $500.

Just look carefully...if it looks too good to be true...

good luck

Re: Buying a "Flipped" House

Like EmmaNick, we rented a flipped house and it was a DISASTER!

The house was BEAUTIFUL! But the work was done in a terrible fashion. Our first night there the water leaked from the tub into the downstairs kitchen!

The hardwood floor were this dark, soft wood and showed every little nick and our dog's hair (she doesn't even shed!) We had a 5 level split with ONE ZONE heating and AC so it was 700 degrees in the upstairs and a meat locker in the basement...

Everything was just a disaster in that house, we left as soon as our lease was up

Re: Buying a "Flipped" House

a friend of mines husband does this for a living flips houses and I can tell you from speaking to him they do the bare minimum and fast crappy work just to make it look new and nice, they use the cheapest material as well. I would be very eary to purchase a flipped house.

Re: Buying a "Flipped" House

We brought a flipped house and for the most part we're happy with it. Our inspector was surprised at how well most of the work was done.

Our kitchen appliances are pretty basic, they were new but nothing special. In both bathrooms, instead of putting a vanity/medicine cabinet they put pedestal sinks/oval mirror so we really don't have much storage. All the bedrooms have walk-in closets, but they didn't add rods or anything so we had to put in closet systems.

Re: Buying a "Flipped" House

we looked at 2 flipped houses,

1 was done looked great but just too small of property for us so it was an instant no

2 was a work in progress, just on the market to be finished in 2 weeks and it was a disaster....

this will sound crazy but bring a marble to each house you look at and drop it on the floor to see if the floors slant....flip work is so fast that they half arse alot of stuff......every room in the house was horrible uneven the marble flew around the rooms

also really look sooo closely at everything....they had a ton a material laying around and we knew we didnt want it because of the quality of materials used....

i am sure there are great deals out there among the crap.....just need to find one that was done right....


good luck

Re: Buying a "Flipped" House

Honestly, you look for the same things you would look for in any house. Shoddy work and poor craftsmanship isn't just a problem in flipped homes - it's a problem in a LOT of homes. You can also look at homes that aren't flips and be distracted by great decorating or fun features. The one thing I would look at more closely in a flipped home is if the work that was done justifies the price they are now asking. Find out what they paid for the property, what work was done, and see if they truly increased the value of the home enough to justify whatever price you would pay for it.

Re: Buying a "Flipped" House

Re: Buying a "Flipped" House