Inspecting Homes for Flippers

Every home purchase should include a thorough home inspection. This is true in most cases, but what about those times when you don’t have confidence you’re going to purchase the home, or can’t get in for a full home inspection. Over the past month I have worked with a few property flippers. 

Thanks to HDTV, and the current real estate inventory low, buying, fixing, and selling homes that have become run down or extended on the market has become increasing popular. Houses sold on auction don’t always have the opportunity to be inspected after contract, and even when they do, many items are shut down and can’t be tested. When the kitchen sink is in the middle of the living room floor and all the light fixtures are gone paying for a full home inspection may not feel like a good use of investment funds. 

Experienced house flippers go through a house with a checklist of basic renovation cost, they typically are looking at footprint, bedroom numbers, and estimating repair and remodel cost. If they are able to put in an offer a home inspection should be a contingency requirement, however, if the house is on auction, paying for a full inspection could be more than needed. Every good flipper needs a home inspector on their team. With just a flashlight, ladder, and four foot level a lot can be learned. For a nominal fee, about a third the cost of a home inspection, many inspectors like myself, will go out with flippers and evaluate a home’s structure. They evaluate the foundation to determine the house has not moved. A peek in the attic to make sure there are no surprises, review of the wiring, and an educated guess on the system like hot water and heat can be made even if they are shut down. 

This way the buyer can focus on what it will take to make the house appealing to the market again and let the inspector worry about the stability of the structure. After less than an hour in the home a conversation takes place and the flipper is armed with the information they need to make a decision. When this is done everyone wins, and if a bid is lost the buyer is not stuck with a useless report about rooms they had planned to gut anyway.