How to tell whether a flipped home has been fixed properly or not.
Some flipped homes look amazing, but not everyone does a good job of buying and fixing homes. Many quick fixes end up with shoddy results. How do you know that the flip you’re looking to buy was renovated correctly? Luckily, there are a few signs you can watch out for:
1. Building permits. If they didn’t obtain building permits while flipping the home, that’s a big problem. The permitting shows the projects had a base level of workmanship and ensures the work was done properly. If there are no permits, the seller might be trying to cover something up.
2. Fresh paint. If people want to quickly flip a property, they might not fix water problems. Instead, they might just paint over everything and hope you don’t notice. If you see some fresh paint that doesn’t look quite right, it might be there to cover something up.
“If there are no permits, the seller might be trying to cover something up.”
3. Mismatched plumbing and faulty wiring. These can lead to problems down the road. Test switches and outlets throughout the house and make sure everything is in working order. Sometimes people will try to slap something together that works for a while but will give you trouble later.
4. Shoddy cabinets and drawers. Sometimes you’ll see misaligned cabinets or paint that’s covering up issues. Make sure all the cabinets and drawers are aligned and working properly.
5. Flooring inconsistencies. Does the height of the flooring match up? Are there huge gaps or bubbles throughout the floor? Look for anything that’s mismatched, out of alignment, or doesn’t look right. These issues can indicate that the seller cut a few corners while installing the floors.
6. Faulty doors and windows. If they’re sticking, you should probably ask the seller about it. It could be the house settling, or it could be a number of issues that were covered up.
If you have any questions about these warning signs or real estate in general, feel free to call us at (254) 213-5335. We would love to help you.
