what do we think of gut rehab flips?

[Anonymous]

I've seen a few of these builder flips, e.g. bought for 250K a year ago and selling for 500 now. Everything fresh and new inside. I always can't help but think the house had to be really disgusting and gross initially to sell for so cheap. Could this mean there are problems underneath the nice new interior or issues with quality? Are these a safe buy or something to be careful about? And do builders negotiate or are they pretty stuck on listing price?

[Anonymous]

What difference does it make if it was gross and disgusting inside? It's been gutted! Probably just old with old cloth wiring, old plumbing, etc, All the walls, ceilings, windows, etc taken out and old wiring, plumbing replaced and new outlets/wiring put in. Electrical box upgraded so you fon't blow a fuse everytime you run the hair dryer and microwave at the same time. Some of these old houses have 1 outlet per room.

Better to get a gutted basically new house than some retrofitted DIY homeowners idea of a renovation.

[Anonymous]

We bought a renovated (not GUT renovated) flip and I fear there are some problems lurking. We have had to fix a mold/water problem in the basement, had to fix a leaking pipe in the wall behind the bathroom sink, the landscaping was poorly done and has died, or needed to be removed because it was too close to the house, and I just generally fear there are things they covered rather than fixed, knowing they wouldn't be the ones having to deal with it later on. Our home is beautiful, but I don't think I'd buy a flip again.

[Anonymous]

I automatically skip over them. They look to brand-new-condo-ish to me. I also fear the lax construction standards and what surprises lurk under the karate-chopped pillows.

[Anonymous]

I try to avoid them. I worry about the quality of the updates when someone clearly bought with the goal of turning a profit.

[Anonymous]

It depends on who does the fips. Ask to talk to the owners of other houses they have flipped.

[Anonymous]

That's a tough one because home owners can cut corners too. Generally, however, I think flippers choose the cheapest materials and do the bare minimum to get the place sold. I would really pay attention to the quality of the finishes (make sure it's not all smoke and mirrors) and get an excellent home inspector.

We bought a flip 5 years ago and it's turned out okay. Not great, not terrible. I would have preferred to buy from someone who lived in the home, and I still feel that way.

[Anonymous]

I agree with a PP that you could have problems with a lot of homeowner done repairs or in a situation where you're trying to figure out a lot of the repairs yourself.

It would give me comfort to have a home warranty, having had one save us significant cash before.

[Anonymous]

I think they are great. What is the alternative? Let every rowhouse in DC fall to the ground? These renovations are changing the landscape of many neighborhoods, turning ugly, falling apart houses on trashy lots and making them viable communities again. How terrible.

[Anonymous]

I don't like them because they rip out period details whether or not these could have been saved. It seems like wanton destruction of the character of the house.

[Anonymous]

And some of us homeowners in these <1930s DC houses spend a buttload of cash renovating them with the idea that we will keep living in them and demand top quality.

If you're 29 and your boyfriend Josh is 29 and you're just going to live in your Eckington / Trinidad / Truxton Circle / Petworth newly flipped rowhouse for 4 years, knock yourself out. You're moving to Arlington, anyway in 2017.

The cheap-ass materials THAT YOU CAN'T SEE will in fact last you for your 4 years. The PVC plumbling, the low-price sockets, the seconds-quality warped framing 2x4s holding up your killer backsplash even!

I'm serious, all this crap like the poorly flashed roof won't be your problem, because you'll be in the Yorktown pyramid the minute little Iris turns 4 years old.

But for those of you planning on staying for 10+, I'd keep looking for a property I could rehab **myself** with a general contractor.

Why would you buy trouble?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And some of us homeowners in these <1930s DC houses spend a buttload of cash renovating them with the idea that we will keep living in them and demand top quality.

If you're 29 and your boyfriend Josh is 29 and you're just going to live in your Eckington / Trinidad / Truxton Circle / Petworth newly flipped rowhouse for 4 years, knock yourself out. You're moving to Arlington, anyway in 2017.

The cheap-ass materials THAT YOU CAN'T SEE will in fact last you for your 4 years. The PVC plumbling, the low-price sockets, the seconds-quality warped framing 2x4s holding up your killer backsplash even!

I'm serious, all this crap like the poorly flashed roof won't be your problem, because you'll be in the Yorktown pyramid the minute little Iris turns 4 years old.

But for those of you planning on staying for 10+, I'd keep looking for a property I could rehab **myself** with a general contractor.

Why would you buy trouble?

That's quite a chip on your shoulder. We are long-termers fixing up a circa-1900 rowhouse in DC but I still think people should do what they want to their houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I automatically skip over them. They look to brand-new-condo-ish to me. I also fear the lax construction standards and what surprises lurk under the karate-chopped pillows.

Thank you for "karate-chopped" pillows. I have been trying to figure out what to call that odd look pillows have in staged houses. What's that look all about?

[Anonymous]

The pillows figured on Modern Family recently. Very funny.

[Anonymous]

it depends because the flip might have forced the house to be brought up to code which was as win for us (all new electrical wiring,electrical panel, plumbings, sewer pipe to the street, insulation etc...)