We recently had a homebuyer who was looking to buy a recently flipped house come to us with the question of if they still need a home inspection, considering that the house just underwent a renovation.
Our answer was absolutely. We always recommend home inspections on any home – existing properties, newly built houses, and yes even flipped houses.
There are generally two types of flipped houses.
In one type, an investor purchases a house in an area that is realizing rapidly increasing home values. They make no repairs, and sell for a profit after holding the house for a few months to a year.
The other type is what most people are thinking of when they say flipped home. This is when investors purchase a house that they expect to increase in value if the right repairs are done. They make the repairs, and sell the house for more than their purchase price plus repairs.
The popularity of house flipping has been increased with a lot of popular television shows.
We always recommend that two home inspections occur in the case of a flipped house. The investor will want to have an inspection when they make their initial purchase, which can help them identify what systems would need work or repairs from a functional aspect of the house. These types of repairs will often be required before they can flip the house, along with more cosmetic updates that make the house look more appealing.
Depending upon the extent of renovations, sometimes phase inspections can also be of benefit to the investor.
We also then recommend a home inspection by the buyers of the flipped house, just like any other homebuyer. In some cases, the repairs are performed so rapidly it’s possible items could be overlooked. Additionally, sometimes bigger issues get overlooked in favor of the cosmetic repairs that are more visibly seen and therefore get more attention.
The best way to feel confident in the home you are buying is by having a professional inspection performed by a licensed home inspector.