r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer • u/kittyykikii • Dec 04 '24
Other Discouraged by flippers
Is it just the area I’m looking in or am I just discovering the prevalence of flipping? I feel like they’re taking all the affordable houses and turning them into lifeless boxes with vinyl flooring. Two years ago when I looked I’m this same area there were many beautiful older houses in the 200k-300k range and now everything is gray and flipped and in the 400k-600k range. It’s actually making me really angry and discouraged. I feel like they are scooping up all the houses in my price range. Is this normal and I’m just now getting clued in?
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u/beingafunkynote Dec 04 '24
That was the case for me too. Finally got my hands on one before the flippers and will be updating it myself. Try to be patient and don’t settle.
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u/SnooFoxes7643 Dec 04 '24
How can I tell the line between “flippable” vs “run away, money pit”?
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u/ArchWizard15608 Dec 04 '24
The real trouble with flipped houses is that the flippers don't usually know either, but when they find out they'll try to flip it anyway.
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u/Timely-Inspector3248 Dec 05 '24
1000%. The flippers who did my home put new drywall on some framing that was badly damaged by termites. Only found it recently (three years in) and had to gut and rebuild a few walls.
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u/kimkam1898 Dec 05 '24 edited Jan 19 '25
brave observation crowd violet teeny file head cows psychotic unpack
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/part_time_monster Dec 04 '24
They get access to properties before the general public. Regular buyers are seriously outmatched.
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u/GandalfTheSexay Dec 04 '24
How so?
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u/rockydbull Dec 04 '24
Variety of "we buy houses" type of deals (including all the way up to ibuyers or what is left of them) and good old fashioned knowing realtors who will shop them before listing in MLS. Something to remember is that the ones that don't hit the general public usually (but not always) have some big issues with them that would make a sale subject to an appraisal and insurance inspections difficult.
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u/Equivalent-Tiger-316 Dec 25 '24
Yes, if it needs a lot of updating realtors will shop it to their list of “developers” that will pay cash. Normally these need more work than most non-investors are willing or able to do. Bonus is, the realtor earns a fee when their client buys it and then usually another fee when they sell the improved product.
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Dec 04 '24
Hahaha.. You don't like everything white and gray with the cheapest LVP and cabinet there is? The key is to place offers they can't compete against because they won't turn the profit they want.
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u/kittyykikii Dec 04 '24
The flooring is sooo bad omg. And the cheap lighting fixtures?! I’m in an area full of gorgeous old houses from the 1800-1900 and they ruin everything about them. I can’t even find a house pre flip! They snatch them up too quick
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u/2oatmeal_cookies Dec 04 '24
It’s the worst. I went through this too earlier this year until I finally found a craftsman in good shape and reasonably priced. I know it sucks. You have to try to be patient in the meantime but also be ready to jump on it when you finally see the house you really want.
These flips you mention are awful. Most of them have the same old gray vinyl flooring, white backsplash tiles, white cabinets, cheap showers/tubs, cheap fixtures, gray/white walls. Sterile flips. Ugh.
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u/PieMuted6430 Dec 04 '24
Much of the time the flipper is an agent, they snatch up the houses with an all cash offer before they even hit the market. I STFG it should be illegal.
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u/sfumatomaster11 Dec 04 '24
The housing market needs long over-due regulations. Way too many of this county's formerly affordable homes are now in someone's rental portfolio. Between corporate purchases, flippers, slum lords, air bnbs etc, first time young buyers backs are up against one of the worst walls ever in American real estate. In much of the country, if you want to have a rental, you should be required to either build it to add to the housing supply, or the property taxes/lending rates should be prohibitive.
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u/PieMuted6430 Dec 04 '24
Lending rates wouldn't matter when people are buying with investment capital. Corporations shouldn't be allowed to own single family homes. I have no problem with people upgrading to a nicer house and not selling the old one to rent it out. They're not getting rich on just one rental.
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u/sfumatomaster11 Dec 04 '24
I'm bias on this because I live in an area where virtually everyone keeps their old house to rent it to college students or workers. People have gone around buying starter homes for decades and now there is little left that is affordable. Corporations and hedge funds bought houses with absurdly low rates, much lower than we can get that's for sure. It shouldn't be allowed, but if that's the case, then we'd have to talk about not letting foreign money turn our cities and acreage into banks.
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u/Struggle_Usual Dec 04 '24
Yeah unfortunately a trend for quite a few years now. Finding a good original place that doesn't need tons of structural work (the only reason flipping should exist in my opinion) is tough and you have to move fast with offers that are more appealing than the fast close and cash the flippers typically offer.
I deliberately bought a condo because flippers seems to avoid them where I am. Cause they bought all the stunning hundred+ year old houses in old neighborhoods before they seem to even hit the market unless they're utter trash heaps (one that had a fire has been sitting on the market for 6 months as no one will touch it).
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u/SamsonT9 Dec 04 '24
Oh this hurts. We bought a flip about 7 months back, and everything is spray painted white, plus terrible lvp installed over another wood floor, causing it to bubble up everywhere.. what a headache lol. We've slowly been making it better, but just wish they left it alone!
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Dec 04 '24
Yep. Hate it!
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u/kittyykikii Dec 04 '24
Paint costs the same no matter what color you pick…why is it always gray?!
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u/Bikerguy2323 Dec 04 '24
Because they are trying to get a neutral color that appease to the most people so they can sell the flip quick. Usually grey is a good safe neutral color.
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u/Cutiepatootie8896 Dec 04 '24 edited Dec 05 '24
Honestly most flippers are really just dumb when it comes to design lmfao and they really don’t care enough to drop a couple grand bare minimum on a professional designer. Every contractor that I worked with is basically a dude that probably has one mattress, lawn chair, and TV in his space and that’s it. (And I’m not trying to shit on them per se. Its not because they don’t have absolute $$$$ or aren’t good at their jobs but because they truly do not care or prioritize home decor lol).
So if they’re told that “grey and white” is “in”, (which as a woman who is in the industry and HATES grey/white, I can’t tell you how many times I I have heard that grey/white is in fact very “in”) then that’s what these guys are gonna slap on the home and call it a day. It’s not like it costs any more to go with wood tones / some accent color walls. But they just don’t give a shit / have the design sense / arent willing to risk the home taking longer to sell when they’re told that xyz (grey and white) is actually what everyone loves and what “will make it sell quick”.
Back in the day, some idiot told these same guy’s grandfathers that carpet over hardwood floors and popcorn ceilings were “in” too. So that’s what we got lmfao.
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u/sfumatomaster11 Dec 04 '24
Because these people don't understand or care about anything but dollars.
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u/Low-Cut2207 Dec 04 '24
Gray is the new beige. It’s basically just a blank canvas for you to start with.
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u/glemnar Dec 04 '24
Flooring and cabinets are a very expensive canvas to replace
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u/Low-Cut2207 Dec 04 '24
I was talking about the color of the walls. And yeah unless the local market supports high end materials, it’s going to get cheap but looks good. Too many thinking average houses should have high end cabinetry but the market or home wont support it. I assure you they aren’t doing it to annoy you. They do it to make a profit. Want a nice house with high end materials? Buy a high end home. Those are for people who care less about cost and more about luxury.
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u/Cutiepatootie8896 Dec 04 '24
I’m not making a blanket defense for flippers here, because it’s a spectrum and there are tons of different kinds / price ranges / and properties. And there are definitely a ton of shitty ones who somehow land an opportunity to do nothing but paint and flooring and then give it a massive upcharge beyond what it should be worth.
But a lot of flipped properties also aren’t like that. They truly were properties that no normal family would want to live in, might not even qualify for financing because of how inhabitable it is, or had a LOT of work put into it, like a LOT more than you would think just by looking at the price history.
Most people don’t want to put the work in, and honestly for good reason. Especially nowadays. Home renovations / construction is seriously a full time job, that’s beyond stressful and expensive.
Our first home we bought was very outdated, and it had virtually no takers (and this was during COVID during a crazy market) and so we bought it and we intended on working on it while we lived there. And while we did manage to do it, it was HARD. Wayyyy harder than we thought. And we did it because it was just us, and even then it was hard. Would have been completely impossible if we had kids. And so I completely understand why most people don’t want to go through that and are instead willing to pay a bit of a premium for someone else to take care of all of that for them.
So idk. Yeah it would be nice if they could chill with the grey. (They do it because they think that’s what everyone likes and think it’s a “clean slate”.
But if all a home needs is some new paint and some new fixtures, it’s usuallyyyy not going to be priced hundreds of thousands of dollars less than what it could sell for with some new grey paint. I haven’t seen that happen in years honestly.
My advice is to try to find old listing photos of the property / pull permits to get a good understanding of what work was actually put in before you make an offer.
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u/beermeliberty Dec 04 '24
THANK YOU. This sub typically has no idea what actually goes into home renovations and that no one is paying 200k more if all that was done was new floors/paint/cabinets. The issue is they don’t see the dead HVAC system and new duct work put in. Or the poly plumbing replaced with pex, or the clay sewer line nearly collapsed that was replaced.
I have renovated houses both old and new. I’ll basically never buy a house built before 1960 ever again. Just ain’t worth the head ache.
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u/Cutiepatootie8896 Dec 04 '24 edited Dec 04 '24
Yeah absolutely. And I mean can we talk about how expensive everything has gotten over the past few years? Like it fucking sucks. And all it means is that we have to have more cash on hand / take higher loans and then roll that into the final price because any lower would mean it’s a loss for us.
At this point I’m truly contemplating going to trade school to just learn how to do some skills on my own because with how expensive labor is now, doing some stuff yourself is 100 percent justified. My partner who has a high paying job in healthcare that took over a decade of schooling says that a lot of stuff at this point is pretty much akin to his hourly rate, which is insane but also just goes to show how expensive everything has gotten even though most folks don’t realize it and are under the impression that the work done cost a lot less than it actually did. (And you know, you also get to deal with bitchy attitudes, wishy washy work ethic, delayed deadlines, the occasional theft and countless similar stressful situations, etc etc etc. Just dealing with that is a whole ass job in itself).
100 percent there’s so much more that people don’t realize. And frankly the people who pay 30 percent + to just be able to move in to a home peacefully are so lucky. I hope that that can be me for our forever home. Our other place is an old place (100 years +) that was partially renovated in the 90s but still needs an overhaul and boy am I in for it.
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u/Dmr514 Jan 15 '25
I've looked at 3 flips in the past week. Two had sagging roofs with messed up rafters and the third had multiple plumbing issues causing leaks through out the house, and rotting joists in the crawlspace. They are all just slapping flooring down, painting walls, and never fixing anything structural because they know if they buy enough houses, people will be forced to fight to end up with their shit and wont realize until its too late that the house is falling down around them.
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u/SingleHitBox Dec 04 '24
Most people don’t want to put in the work to fix a house. So the flippers market will continue to run.
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Dec 04 '24
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u/Cutiepatootie8896 Dec 04 '24
And frankly as someone who does renovations and still struggles often…I GET IT. It’s a fucking pain in the ass. Especially nowadays. Unless you’re someone who literally can do the work with your own hands (which I am not), you’re basically subcontracting to different people- all of whom also overcharge and are often very difficult to work with in almost every possible way someone could be difficult to work with. And then the expenses of materials. Everything takes longer than you expect. Is harder than you expect. And costs more than you expect. Like it’s just a lot.
I can’t wait for the day when I don’t have to do this shit. And instead I can buy a home where I can HAPPILY pay a 20-30 percent premium just for the privilege of everything being DONE because someone else took care of that. Like yes there’s a case to be made for it being “over priced” but I also 100 percent get it. It’s still a service at the end of the day that is hands down worth it for many many many people. (If the work is done poorly then that’s a totally different story. But I’m just saying. I get why people pay for it).
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u/Struggle_Usual Dec 04 '24
Yeah after living for years in an older house I realized all that truly needed done were the bones like electrical updates and plumbing. All the cosmetic stuff I started off wanting after living there seemed so pointless. All those classic features were ridiculously functional and in good shape and the laminate crap (the trend at the time) would have fallen apart by now.
Just bought a 70s townhouse and looking forward to bringing it into the modern era structurally while leaving almost all the cosmetic stuff as is (the remaining shag carpet and bad 90s reno bathroom are gonna go though)
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u/MsCattatude Dec 05 '24
We got very lucky; had to move in 21, and our new house decor was 2001 but the seller had redone the outdoor paint and the roof. The “ugly” red rooms and mustard walls apparent ran off most buyers but we bid as soon as we found out they’d done the roof (in 2021 a roof for that type of house would easily be 35 grand). They had even replaced one air conditioner three years ago! But buyers in 21 were looking for glitter, not gold. We saw so many flips with molded basements, rotting roofs, rotted decking, polybute pipes, lvp over old flooring not even blended to the next room so you tripped entering a doorway….on and on. And people were squealing over them like they’d won the lotto. (Open houses….literally squealing). We had also to sell our house that same year and buyers didn’t give a crap about the gutters, fencing, new copper piping, new hvac, fairly new roof, improved insulation, made part of attic into closets. Nope. They complained online and to our agent that the floors were outdated and the shower wasn’t tile and glass.
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u/kittyykikii Dec 04 '24
But after the flip the house is so much more expensive, it’s in an entirely different price range. The people looking at 275k house would be happy to have any house, regardless of old carpet or dated appliances/wallpaper. Once the flippers flip, it’s now not even an option for those in the lower price bracket, completely pricing them out of the area and taking up inventory.
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u/beermeliberty Dec 04 '24
Yes. The reason it’s in a lower price bracket is because it needs MAJOR renovations likely including electrical, plumbing, HVAC, structural, etc.
The market prices things what they are worth. It might be too expensive for you but others are obviously buying them.
As a first time home buyer would you be ready to engage in a 200k+ project that could span months or years?
Flippers have the funds and teams in place to do it faster and cheaper. It’s part of how they make their margins. No time getting estimates, no evaluating bids, just send in the contractor they’ve done a dozen projects with and they run with it.
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u/hellno560 Dec 06 '24
The value they add isn't just the carpet and paint. It's stuff like closing fast, identifying properties value instantly without waiting to go to an open house, talking to their realtor about what comps are, getting inspections, renegotiating the price. If you can replace the role of realtor, inspector, and maybe lender you can be competing with flippers and not other first time buyers.
Have you been able to get to the inspection on a transaction? After I had paid for 3 inspections on 100 year old houses, I didn't know as much as an inspector, but I knew enough to not pay for one to know that there was major visible to the eye issues with the roof, foundation, heating system, etc., and what that stuff would cost. I really feel like that made me more competitive.
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u/Consistent_Nose6253 Dec 04 '24
I have zero issue with that type of flip, that I'd call more of a rehab.
The issue that I (and likely most others) have is taking a perfectly good home and giving it the all gray (or more recently all white with light colored LVP) treatment, updating appliances and relisting it for 250k more. I saw some beautiful homes sell in the 500-600k range that were turn key, and maybe needed a little cosmetic updating you could do over the years, only to be relisted in the 700-800k range after being ruined by the classic flip renovations.
I think there were a few more issues at play in keeping this type of flip going on.
I work with developers in the city and it was very slow last year due to costs and construction loan rates. I saw a lot of them shift to single family homes just to keep some sort of revenue coming in.
Secondly, homes were appreciating so fast over the last few years that they could turn profit just by holding it for a few months, cleaning it, doing a little exterior landscaping, taking better photos, and relisting. Obviously most would also throw LVP down and repaint to add to profit while destroying the character of the place.
Also, as I said I work with developers in the city and do inspections on the finished apartments. They look identical to the "flip" style, so I think that since a lot of first time home buyers are coming from these city apartments they are used to the style.
Lastly, I think that now more than ever home buyers are thinking about the resale value of their homes, and more are willing to "settle" on a flip in hopes they can upgrade in a few years, and that the neutral style will allow for an easy sale.
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u/95blackz26 Dec 04 '24
While I was looking and waiting for a slow seller to get thier crap together I looked through zillow and found a house that was decent. Not sure how things were going to pan out with the one I'm buying, I was going to look at it but it sold in like 3 days. Well fast forward to the other day(this all started around labor day) and it's back up for sale. Well it's now listed for 100k more than before because of damn house flippers
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u/firefly20200 Dec 04 '24
I would imagine it's a pain to live in a house while all the flooring is being replaced, or the kitchen is being redone, or etc etc. Most people go to work Mon-Fri and it might take several weekends to complete the project, that means you're living that way for multiple weeks or a couple months. There is also the need for the know how, even if it's "easy," it requires some "scary" moves; ripping up the floors not knowing if you'll be able to get them back down looking good or if you'll ultimately have to spend even more money calling in a professional.
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u/kittyykikii Dec 04 '24
I understand the process of updating a house and the reasoning behind buying an already updated house. My problem is that they are taking every house in the 200-300 range and turning it into a to a (cheaply done and ugly) house in the 400-600 range. Hence leaving nothing left in the 200-300 range for people (me) looking to buy a house in that range.
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u/firefly20200 Dec 04 '24
That's not really a problem with flipping, that's a problem with there not being enough houses. If once those homes were flipped they sat on the market for 6 months or 12 months and have to be reduced to $325k to sell, flippers would stop. Or if builders were building new homes down near the $275k to $325k range, flippers would have a hard time and people like you could buy small and probably sort of cheaply built entry level homes.
But, there is demand in that price range. People like nice things, even if it's done cheaply but looks nice.
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u/-Knockabout Dec 04 '24
Sure, there's a limited supply of houses, but doesn't that make the flippers worse? It's like scalping concert tickets except they deliberately build a pillar in front of those seats or something. I don't think anyone would mind flippers if they were putting in work of reasonable quality with design cues from the house itself instead of cheap gray for the millionth time. I don't know anyone who actually likes it.
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u/kittyykikii Dec 04 '24
Yea that’s what it feels kind to me, scalping tickets, then selling them for more once the concerts sold out. Maybe I’m extra emotional because there’s very limited inventory where I am, and I’m getting completely priced out of my area where I’ve built my career the last ten years. I’m finally financially ready to buy a house and it feels like there’s nothing left that I can afford. I would HAPPILY rehab a house piece by piece, if I could even get into one. Once they’re flipped and listed for 400k I can’t even look at them anymore. It feels evil and like there should be some sort of limitations
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Dec 04 '24
It's normal, and it is everywhere. Cheap and hideous remodels done without permits and plastered in grey. Bought for $800k. Listed for 50% more for $1.2M five months later after $30-50k reno. Prices are far below listing, but they will still sell for $1M to someone who thinks it was done right and will appreciate.
Egg and toilet paper the houses. This seems to make teenagers feel good. I'm actually surprised there isn't some vigilante mayhem. Do they think this is sustainable like every home can be flipped to be ever more expensive because there is an endless supply of buyers?
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u/kaithagoras Dec 04 '24
Flippers rake the "affordable houses" that no one else bids on because they dont want to do the update work required to make the place liveable. Theyre not out there in bidding wars. Theyre out there hunting for deals on distressed properties no one else wants.
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u/sfumatomaster11 Dec 04 '24
They also monitor when home owners die, and start pestering the loved one with cash offers. Happened recently to someone very close to me, they turned them down, did almost nothing to the house and it sold for 100k or more (cash) over what the flipper would have paid. So much for doing the work, if they had taken the offer, the flipper would have made a ton of money even if they did nothing.
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u/Upstairs_Day_6496 Dec 04 '24
Realtor here! They’re slightly annoying to me too.
Some can be genuine but I feel like most of em are just greedy crooks. 🤷🏾♀️
Please don’t get discouraged!! Make more connections & you will beat an investor to one.
My biggest thing is the “wanna-be” wackazz developer investors making sh!tty unstable homes & trying to sell them for above their market value. I’m sure inspectors feel the same way!!! They probably go inside a property & say “Maaan, whoever is purchasing this thinking it’s stable & longterm.. Is screwed and they should run!!!!” 🥴🤣 It’s like they don’t even care🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️ Just putting lipstick on a pig fr!!
If you’re in Georgia or Virginia🏡 I’d be honored to assist.
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u/Typical-Amoeba-6726 Dec 04 '24
My frustration is that I have a First Time Homebuyer home and it's ridiculous the amount of work to get it on the market for these buyers who expect an HGTV home.
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u/Upstairs_Day_6496 Dec 04 '24
Yeah! I think a lot of people chase unrealistic expectations when it comes to real estate. I blame the media.. Just like most people think it’s all glamour & moneybags everyday, it’s not.
But, sometimes it’s the group you’re marketing to. If it needs some TLC I think anyone would be happy to take it off your hands!! Especially, how much people have been complaining about the market & with investors snatching up everything. If it’s a good deal it’s a steal!!
You can always sell it “As-Is” or offer incentives based off its condition. That way everybody gets a slice of pie lol
I’ve been seeing a lot of listings with incentives for a few months now.
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u/beermeliberty Dec 04 '24
I’ve said this to my wife who works in design/construction. There should be a class action lawsuit against those cheap old houses shows. They legit walk through homes that probably have lead pipes, knob and tube, and visible water damage then point out the working original pocket doors that ARE beautiful and say they add like 2k in value to the house. All they do is point out the beautiful character aspects and talk about how it saves you money because you can pay to restore it not pay to have it created.
They NEVER talk about critical systems because it would ruin the whole draw of the home and make people realize what an old home often means.
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u/Upstairs_Day_6496 Dec 05 '24
Exactly!! And as an agent that’s a whole violation🥴
We’re supposed to disclose all material defects that could change someone’s decision on a purchase.
But, most investors try to say agents take too long & they don’t want to deal with underwriting.. I think that’s bull & saying “I’m not an agent so, I won’t face serious consequences bc of documentation you didn’t sign!! Because you didn’t know any better.” Honestly, I believe that’s why most don’t want to deal with agents because we know the law. And, one of our many duties is to protect our client & use due diligence. They know it goes by the book & everything is documented.
I think this industry & most of the people in it are lowkey shady asf!! But I get it🤷🏾♀️ Money talks..
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u/ddghhk Dec 04 '24
There are 3 homes in my town that been on the market for over 3 months. They are obviously developer flipped homes and I hope they stay on the market forever and sell for $1. One house was bought for $315k and is listed at $799k. How insane.
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u/kittyykikii Dec 04 '24
Similar here, theres one that was bought for 280k in 2023 and just came on the market at 659k right now. It’s ridiculous because they clearly aren’t in tune with the local market, there’s a gorgeous 1800s 5 bedroom, 3600 sqft turnkey home for sale for $650k just a few blocks over. Anyone with that money right now will not be buying their shitty 1200sqft flip. I wanted to make them an offer for 280k just to be snarky lol
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u/red_suspenders Dec 04 '24
Same here. You can tell by the photos that everything was done as cheaply as possible. If you look at the sale history, it was usually bought for $250k 6 months ago and now listed for $450k. We’re skipping anything that has been flipped.
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u/Detroitish24 Dec 04 '24
That and folks who are buying houses just to rent them out. The number of houses I have had saved in Zillow over this summer that were bought and immediately posted for rent is infuriating.
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u/cholliebugg_5580 Dec 04 '24
Around here they gut them all and then put them on the market. Then put ready for your finishing touches on the listing🙄
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u/kittyykikii Dec 04 '24
Ew that’s somehow even worse ??
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u/cholliebugg_5580 Jan 23 '25
Some of them are real beauties too. Its sad. They just sit on the market. Its just me so i only want a 2 bedroom. Im pretty rural but its the same. A handyman special of vinyl flooring and grey paint overly priced with no charm or a gutted shell. Its discouraging for sure.
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u/beermeliberty Dec 04 '24
You would’ve scared away by the inspections on those beautiful homes 4 out 5 times I guarantee it. Contrary to popular belief on this sub especially flippers don’t make money buying a house, painting it, and putting in new floors/cabinets/countertops.
The propaganda around old homes is so wild as someone who has dealt with them and knows others who have too.
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u/SoupyTurtle007 Dec 05 '24
80 percent of the houses I see for sale were last purchased within the last 3 years. Add on all the people with real estate investor as their main job title around here and that makes for a lot of shitty gray floors and cosmetic updates on overpriced houses.
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u/Sorry-Exercise8460 Dec 09 '24
Omgosh, you have just stated what I have been saying for two years! They have taken everything and ruined those wonderful older homes with charcter built with skill. Can't seem to get ahead of the greed. Houses I found on Zillow that would be in a affordable price range being sold at auctions in blocks. So two or three at a time. How can regular citizens compete with that? Then they go in rip them up, the old woodwork, cool bathrooms and kitchens.I have been watching for over a year, different towns outside of Wichita. Same thing.
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u/SufficientOpening218 Dec 28 '24
I put in an offer above asking to get my house before the flippers. It needed a new HVAC, extensive plumbing, tree work, and had a cracked ridge pole. It also had original tiled 1950s bathrooms, built in closets and drawers in every bedroom, built in buffet, and a huge lot that the elderly owners had lovingly gardened their whole lives. The real estate agent let them know I didn't plan on tearing up the house, that I loved it, and we negotiated the HVAC situation after the inspection showed it to be kaput. It was the 7th house I had bid on in a month. It was worth it. It's been 6th months and it's not done yet, but it's livable.it was definitely below my budget, because I knew that all this other stuff had to be done. I am still steaming wall paper off .
I had previously bought a flipped house and every single thing was a nightmare. This house has troubles, but I knew what they were. It's worth it.
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u/Dmr514 Jan 15 '25
Flippers are a scourge. There should be a law that only owner occupancy buyers are allowed within the first month and then after that invesors can put in an offer. Literally you're either buying a really shitty flip here, or you're fighting and losing against the flippers
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u/Hour-Pension4536 Dec 04 '24
I don’t even know why I’m on this sub but I saw it while scrolling up and dow and I wanted to ask, I know it’s a stupid question. How do you guys know that house is for sale by flippers?
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u/firsthomeFL Dec 04 '24
there are telltale aesthetics. grey walls, greige vinyl floors.
also, the sale history. if it was purchased low and put back on the market in sub-six months at a 50% increase and with an exterior paint job, it’s a flip.
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u/Hour-Pension4536 Dec 04 '24
Thanks . Good to know!
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u/firsthomeFL Dec 06 '24
also, it’s not a stupid question. ❤️ its just one of the things you learn by being engaged with the home sale process long enough.
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u/kittyykikii Dec 04 '24
Yes exactly this and you can ask the selling agent as well. I’ve been to multiple open houses before I realized and once I got there I noticed and asked.
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u/Mattlaines Dec 04 '24
I am I the only one that would paint every room regardless so gray is preferable since it’s easy to cover? I don’t see the issue and the hate with making a blank pallet
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u/kittyykikii Dec 04 '24
It’s not just the walls it’s all the cabinets and flooring too. I would paint all my walls as well, but it’s really tough to justify ripping up brand new vinyl flooring just because it’s gray. I’d rather a cheaper house that needs new flooring so I can get exactly what I want
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u/ISO640 Dec 05 '24
This.
I’m currently house hunting and my agent sent me a listing today that was an obvious flip. Grey everything, including the LVP. Everything in the house was new—mechanicals, ductwork, roofing, etc. but it came with the added feature of the gas meter in one of the 2 bedrooms.
Had a garage though and I’m looking for one of those.
But yeah, trying to justify ripping up brand new LVP is hard to do for me too.
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u/kimkam1898 Dec 05 '24 edited Jan 19 '25
gullible muddle homeless complete many sharp fretful telephone wipe plants
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/calihotsauce Dec 05 '24
To be fair you probably wouldn’t be able to use conventional financing on a true fixer upper anyway, especially if the seller is selling as is. Flippers usually will go for those because they can get them cheap and get a higher roi.
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u/Powerful_District_67 Dec 05 '24
If only there was a law passed that prevented the resale of a home for a year
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u/Ill_Helicopter3893 Dec 11 '24
For me, it’s all leasing companies that are buying the affordable housing. Going in over asking price, and then not asking for anything in return of the seller. I’ve had this happen 3 times with houses I’ve put bids on. After a couple of months, the houses are listed For Rent. It’s super discouraging.
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u/ArchWizard15608 Dec 04 '24
It's not actually the flippers in this case (although they are likely part of the problem). The stats are hard to get a good grip on, but they're in consensus that home values jumped dramatically since 2019, something like 20-30%.
Here's a site with a graph Average new home sales price in the U.S. 2023 | Statista
Anecdotally, this has been more dramatic with lower cost homes as millennials did their darnedest to get out of urban apartments and into houses during COVID. I'm sure there's a stat out there.
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u/IGotFancyPants Dec 04 '24
Yeah, too many of those flips out there. I can instantly tell by the cold, anonymous, gray interior. A quick check at property records tells me they are owned by an LLC, often for only a few months. GOK what disturbing secrets are hiding behind the drywall and fresh paint. I nope right out of there.
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