Purchasing flipped house could lead to real problems
Don’t be seduced by appearances — protect yourself with knowledge of a home’s history to avoid buying a lemon
Spring is home- buying season and buyers need to be careful when checking out potential homes. You don’t want to buy a lemon.
If you’re looking at used homes be careful with ones that were flipped. These homes are especially a problem because they are deliberately made to look good, but aren’t necessarily built or renovated to be good. They take advantage of homebuyers’ lack of knowledge when it comes to picking out shoddy workmanship.
Looks are deceiving. A home that’s been flipped banks on it.
I don’t like flips because most of them are done with one purpose: To make a profit. In most cases, the homeowners don’t care about quality because they won’t be living there. Their top priority is to sell fast to save on mortgage payments. And once it’s sold, any problems in the home become the responsibility of the new owners.
How do you know if it’s a flip? There are some warning signs, but again, it comes down to doing your homework. Most people think you need to be a pro to pick out the warning signs, but a lot of it is just common sense.
For example, if the homeowner tells you that they just finished renovating the kitchen and bathroom, how much you want to bet that they had enough money to do both renovations right?
A standard kitchen renovation done properly will cost at least $ 30,000. A bathroom reno can cost close to $ 20,000. If the only reason for renovating was to sell, I would be cautious on how the work was done. Good work takes time, and it isn’t cheap.
If a home looks like it’s been renovated, do a search for any permits on work completed. If changes were made to the plumbing, electrical or structure, permits needed to be pulled.
Also look for cheap materials, such as MDF for cabinetry or laminate flooring. Keep an eye out for bad trim and sloppy paint jobs — these are red flags for quick and cheap renos. When the trim is off or doesn’t line up you can bet that the workmanship isn’t top quality. If they fumbled on the finishes, they probably cut corners on the stuff they know most buyers will not see — the stuff behind walls and below flooring.
If windows were replaced, check to make sure that they are at least energy star rated. If the home has bad windows you will pay for them for years in extra energy costs.
Home buyers can also look into is getting a home- history report on a property. A home- history report uses municipal, provincial and federal data to gather the most up- to- date property information.
A home- history report can tell you the home’s previous sales price, sale dates, building- permit information, information on structure or any previous insurance claims related to the property. You should know if a home you’re looking at had major water damage, flooding, a fire or damage from a natural disaster. Some home- history reports can even tell you if a house was ever used for illicit purposes, like a grow op or meth lab.
The more information you have on a property the better. It puts you in a better position to buy the right home and buy it smart. Watch Holmes Makes It Right on HGTV. For more information visit makeitright. ca.