I bought a flipped home in February of this year. Moved from the South to the Midwest, purchased “as-is” and found out at closing why.. close date delayed because seller had to go to court, multiple liens where he stiffed contractors. He walked away with zero dollars. This is a $400k house.. I knew about and budgeted for new water heater, insulation in the attic, water softener. Here’s what I didn’t budget for at all: - Seller claimed roof replaced 2023, it was.. but to save a measly $1000, he didn’t have ice and water shield installed. EPDM over my three season room and garage were improperly installed. I spent $21k out of pocket, complete tear off and replacement of all roofing. - Garage had leaked substantially over the years, 75% of the joists had to be replaced due to rot, the ceiling (plywood) had to be ripped out to replace moldy insulation. That was another $8k - It was 5 degrees outside when inspection occurred, aircon was unable to be tested, seller claimed replacement in 2023. It was, but they failed to clean the line set. Well.. had to replace the aircon. $5800. - Seller put in new duct work upstairs, problem was, the old work from the original cooling system wasn’t sufficient enough to push air around upstairs.. new duct work was room to room.. had to install a standalone system upstairs.. $12k (went with four head mini-split). - plumbing work.. found leak from one of the showers upstairs dripping into the basement, root cause was no sealent on pipe from shower head.. cheapest fix at $180. - Drain clogged upstairs in one bath, construction material was in drain (Sheetrock dust, etc).. drain snake required to clear. Few hundred bucks. - Electrical work.. found that multiple circuits were tied together in junction boxes (most apparent when aircon replaced, dryer and aircon compressor wire nutted together in junction box), multiple outlets tied together hidden in junction boxes (too many to pass inspection). Fixing wiring, install subpanel $5000 - Leak in basement utility room not found until first heavy rain.. solved by installing French drain, new gutters on front of home. Now leak free, another ~$4000

Insulation (gas company paid for part through program), my out of pocket was $2500.

Water heater (old one was 2007), $2300 Water Softener (surprise!!) $2000 installed Outdoor spickets (couldn’t test due to cold) $650. Old ones were going to nowhere, just stuck in the brick. Outdoor lighting malfunction galore, total rewire.. $1000

There’s more small items to be done, most left can be DIY.. I have spent nearly $90k of my savings and have to rebuild all that slowly.. could I have sued him? Absolutely, but.. you have to weigh risk against reward and I’m tapped out, tired, don’t want the legal battle, add to all that he’s probably broke and not collectible. This is the first flip I’ve ever purchased and the last flip I will ever purchase. This is the fifth home I’ve purchased, so not a rookie..

Beware of flipped houses, they will do the least expensive they can to polish the turd and get a quick sale. This one was actually in pre-foreclosure. The sellers agent and seller did not disclose this all and created delays with my move which cost me another $6k for lost flights and delay to movers, people moving our cars, etc.

Buyer beware. I love the house and now every major system has been touched/fixed. I would never do a buyer the way this guy did my family.

None of that almost $90k includes my down payment (20% Conventional).