BUYER BEWARE - Use Caution When Considering a Flipped Home
Over 8% of homes sold nationally in 2022 were “flipped,” 407,417, the highest percentage this century. A flipped house is a home purchased and sold in less than one year.
TV shows glorifying house flipping have certainly increased its popularity, as has the opportunity to generate income quickly. The barrier to entry is only financial; it has nothing to do with one’s experience or skillset.
Naturally, if more homes are flipped, then more homes are converted in a less-than-desirable manner, where quality may be the last consideration. Of course, the same could be said for any remodeled home; the scale is linear, and the results vary drastically.
Why Should You Care if it is a Flipped House?
It would be best if you cared because you could purchase one of these homes and have to make an unwanted decision. Do you pay to remodel your new home that was supposed to be updated, or do you turn around and sell? We’ve had multiple clients exercise both options.
Here are a few things we’ve seen over the years that you’ll want to look for when viewing a flipped or remodeled house.
Can I see a home two or three times before making an offer? When the market was at its peak, the answer was a resounding no, but things have cooled off a bit, so that may be feasible. It isn’t easy to catch some rather apparent things the first time you see a property, especially the functionality of spaces like kitchens.
Buying unseen properties carries a tremendous risk; we’ve seen it firsthand. Our potential client purchased the home without seeing it, closed on it, invited us over, and realized there was far too much work. He sold the property without moving in.
Cutting Corners with a Flipped House
Installing “cheap” kitchen cabinets can save a flipper/remodeler many thousands of dollars. Open a drawer, is it stapled together? Does it have the essential drawer guides that don’t fully extend, no soft close features, and no rollout trays?
If you answered yes to these questions, you own a basic builder-grade set of cabinets. Replacing them means replacing the countertop, and the full-blown remodel is on.
Flooring, many options, massive price variances, performance, and warranties. Flooring bought off the shelves can be many times less expensive than a higher quality product, looks great when it’s new, but is less likely to stand up to the test of time, kids, pets, or sunlight.
If the flooring is throughout the house, try to find out what type has been installed. An extra box with the product’s name may be in the crawl space.
We don’t work with plumbers who will warranty plumbing fixtures purchased from a box store because the callback rate is much higher.
Box store plumbing fixtures are de-engineered and mass-produced with margin in mind. Interior components contain plastic parts instead of brass. They are sold for much less than a similar-looking fixture sold through a plumbing supply house. It’s difficult to tell the two apart; just be prepared to replace those less expensive fixtures.
So Buyer Beware when purchasing a flipped house.
If you’re considering a remodel with quality in mind, we hope you’ll keep Stewart Remodel Design Build in mind, too.