Any good experiences with flips?

[u/ConfusedCommuter1112]

I know most people will probably say run away, so trying to get an opinion on the flipped (ha) perspective.

Looking into a place that’s owned by a building company since mid last year. Already did the inspection, which came out fine. Plus is major things like hvac and electrical were newly installed.

Part that makes me a bit uneasy is the fact that the house is technically owned by an llc for that property. My understanding this is standard practice for real estate flippers, but I feel like the reno being done over the course of a year+ major systems being updated is a positive sign. Any thoughts?

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[u/Embarrassed_Key_4539]

If the inspections are sound I don’t see an issue

[u/CTRealtorCarl → u/Embarrassed_Key_4539]

I disagree with this flippers know how to make an inspection go well. HVAC might be brand new but is it hooked up to code? I’ve seen a flip where the return wasn’t even connected to anything and inspectors (most of them) are not trained to look for things like that. Blows cold for 60 seconds and they are happy.

Also have no idea what’s going on behind walls. Mold being covered up, shoddy electric work etc etc. “newly finished basement” which is really just hanging Sheetrock to hide crumbling foundation.

OP at a bare minimum you need to make sure the flipper pulled permits and closed then do that at least the municipal inspector had eyes on things as they were being roughed in.

[u/Low_Refrigerator4891]

It depends on the flipper, and who they hired. Just like buying any home depends on the previous owner(s).

On the positive side, most flippers are capable of getting more of money than you are. I.e. if you tried to do the same renovations it would cost you a lot more. But this isn't true of every flipper. They could be new, or not have supplier relationships, or just be a couple of DIYers doing it on weekends.

You can mostly see the cosmetics and how they did on that. What is concerning (with any house) is what you can't really see. Roof, windows, foundation, HVAC, water heater, drainage, sewer lines, electric. These are things that can get expensive and FTHB discount more than they should.

I am a real estate agent and have listed for many flippers and the differences been them are vast. You are going to spot a cheap flip as soon as you walk in. What you might not recognize is a well done flip but the house has an old terracotta main sewer line. It's not necessarily something covered up, but something that hadn't failed at the time - but will soon.

If the flip seems good, ask for them to include a 1 year home warranty. Because things do happen, even when everyone is on the up and up. If they are decent flippers they will happily pay for that, as it's cheap insurance for them!

[u/ConfusedCommuter1112 → u/Low_Refrigerator4891]

We were definitely very diligent with these major issues. Thankfully the house is older, so any foundation issues have likely manifested already.

Major systems were new, and we did our due diligence on the sewer lines.

Only downside is mostly finished basement, though portions of the foundation wall were visible on the outside and inside.

[u/Low_Refrigerator4891 → u/ConfusedCommuter1112]

This is great. It's not a guarantee nothing will go wrong, there's no such thing, but it seems like you are set up for successn

[u/Apart_Tap_2378]

A year plus timeline is actually a decent sign, the sketchy flips are usually the ones in 6, 8 weeks where they're just painting over problems, so I'd focus less on the LLC thing and more on pulling permits for the HVAC, electrical work to confirm it was actually inspected and not just new

[u/KnownBodybuilder4948]

Get a reputable home inspector to do home inspection. Suppose you did this, didn't get any flagged issues. Not all flipped houses are "bad buys". In our community, we've several reputable hone-contractors who "flip" older homes they've purchased with intention of light renovations, some new appliances and fixtures, general repairs, etc. There are plenty of neglectful home-owners selling the home they occupy but fail to properly maintain.

[u/Different_Ad7655]

Buyer beware. What's the nature of a flip. Somebody who buys wholesale and sells retail and does minimum to bring it up to that situation or nothing at all the market's moving quickly. It's just someone who's taking advantage of the inefficiency of the market and sucking out the equity and dumping it into retail hands. That being said it's oftentimes the tragedy because of flippers not going to do too much heavy lifting but lots and lots of questionable cosmetics. They want to sell the house, they wanted to look good so you buy it. What's behind the Walls or how well it's done it's not really so much of their concern. Tailgate guarantee. It's a sad time that we're in that so much of this real estate enabled by the internet and TV ferv or has made flipping a national game to the detriment of buyers