Buying a Flipped House? If you are, get it inspected!

What is a flipped house? Commonly, a flipped house is one that was bought post REO Foreclosure or during a short sale, then fixed up and refurbished and put on the market! I’ve seen and inspected a bunch of these over the years.

During our housing crunch / failure, a lot of homes that are now on the market have had folks living in them that:

• Never spent a dime taking care of anything, ie deferred maintenance to say the least
  
• Ignored and did not service Heating and Cooling, plumbing and other mechanical systems
• Re-Paint trim on exterior? Why and what for? A little rotted wood, big deal!
• Did not fix a darn thing… unless it was a large problem or their house was full of water (even then… who knows)

Why? You ask?? Because they live there for free and have no motivation to take care of anything… sometimes FOR YEARS.

You’re thinking… OK, you’ve made your point. What does this have to do with buying a flipped house?

Here’s the thing, somebody has to do it and fix these things up! But, most of the folks I’m looking at these homes for are told the home is “Refurbished” or similar… ugh. Why is this a concern?

• Most of the homes I look at have new carpet and paint… that’s where most of the $$ Money is spent, only the worst of the problems are even considered.
• The buyers are then told, it’s as is, I’ve never lived there etc… Gimme a break! These home’s have had contractors (unlicensed many times) fix the homes up without permit or supervision, problems are covered up and then I’m called 🙁 It doesn’t make me a popular guy by any means.
• No warranties, receipts, permits or documents are given to buyers much of the time, no recourse if a problem is covered up and concealed.

OK then, what to do?

• Get a Home Inspection… a good one with Thermal Imaging, like the type we offer at Spec Rite Inspections!
• Ask for disclosures, receipts etc… If someone was paid to work on your home, try and find out who it was and what they did!
• Try and make sure the water is on and has been on for as long as possible before the inspection! There are countless reasons for this.
• Obtain any Before and after pictures, and keep for your records.
• Important – Have an understanding that many times, a home you are buying is in cosmetically good condition, but there are going to be other concerns that “pop up” due in large to the neglect the home may have suffered prior to you buying it! <– That doesn’t make it a “bad deal” either.

Thanks!