Halloween is over but WATCH OUT FOR SCARY FLIPS!

by Clifford Wong

Halloween season is a perfect time to talk about houses on the market that LOOK good but are actually SCARY FLIPS. Recently I was helping a friend with a home purchase and this home was a nightmare waiting to happen. It was built in 1954 but the flipper only focused on the pretty things a buyer would see.

During our inspection period we found:

1️⃣ The attic no longer has insulation (seller said they would not install insulation) and electrical junction boxes were left exposed.

2️⃣ The central HVAC ducting was sealed off and the flipper put in 9 mini splits with one for each room in the house.

3️⃣ A sub panel was added to the original 150amp electrical panel to supply power to all the mini splits but didn’t allow for enough headroom for the water heater or dryer. An electrician quoted $20k to rewire the home and to upgrade the panel with the correct permitting.

4️⃣ The home originally had 2 bathrooms, but the flipper added 3 more bathrooms (without a permit) and did not update or replace the cast iron sewer line.

5️⃣ The flipper added an extension (again unpermitted) that brought the roofline dangerously close to the electrical line supplying power to the home.

6️⃣ The flipper pulled the back fence in 15 feet to allow for people to park behind the house but this was just raw dirt and was against Phoenix city code.

7️⃣ We could see exposed drywall between the gaps of the shower panels in all 5 bathrooms which would have guaranteed a mold issue.

The agent (who was related to the seller) claimed they intentionally don’t make their flips perfect so a buyer can come back with a list of requested fixes.

We passed on the house.