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A friend of mine looked at a property yesterday and really wants to buy it, but the owners are flippers. They only replaced the stove, fridge and carpet. The unit needs a new water heater and air-conditioning unit since it is not working. Sounds like a lot more needs to be done from what he said. His Dad thinks he should look at other places, which he has but like this one since I live here too. I think perhaps he needs it inspected. I think they are asking for too much since the water heater and air-conditioning needs replacing, and that is a chunk there.
Based on this rather limited description, buy only if the price is a smokin' bargain. And even then a buyer could get burned.
Well, things like water heaters and air conditioners can be easily fixed but it's a lot harder to fix the location. If your friend likes the house because it's near you, then either calculate the fair price of that one or look for other ones nearby. IMHO, he should get an appraisal done on the property by a reputable person that he hires and not one picked by the seller and offer about 10% under that price. If the flippers take it, then your friend is 10% ahead. If they argue about the price, with the 10% below appraisal, there's still wiggle room for negotiations.
If you know the history of the place, were the owners before the flippers good on maintenance?
Whether something is a good buy or not depends on more than the mere condition of the property. It can be an extreme fixer upper and still be a good deal if the price is right and your friend has the resources to fix it. Since your friend seems to be looking for a place to live in and not flip, then his considerations will be a lot different than someone looking to flip it. And, since flippers are involved, it's probably a good thing that all they did was put in a new stove, fridge and carpet. Anything that needs fixing can now be done right instead of done cheap and or covered over.
I know the game and how it is played. I told him a lot such as he would need an inspector to make sure there isn't anything major wrong. And even tho the appliances are knew as he was told and the plastic is still on them, there is a small place I know of that sells high end appliances but they are scratch and dent and they may or may not offer a warranty.
When he came over to visit and I showed him my place and he pointed out such things as there is no microwave, the light coverings in the kitchen has no covering like mine and you can see the duct work. And there is no hurricane shutters or screens on the windows. Otherwise, my place was in better shape that that one. He's not sure but wanted to be close to work and having a friend here would be good too.
And the RE Lady told him the owners are aware of the air-conditioning and water heater not working and needing to be replaced. They won't replace it, but will take money off of the current price. It is fair to a point.
And it’s public knowledge, what those people paid, so OP needs to know that.
I know it is public knowledge and he knows too. But in my opinion the people flipping it is adding $40,000 and would be worth it IF they put in a new air-conditioning unit, water heater and microwave!
I bought a flipped home here in the Bay Area, which is about the only way you can get them these days. The flippers were not very good, but even they did an okay job with a kitchen remodel before listing it. I had an inspection done, and it isn't wise to skip that in most circumstances. I used the report as a bargaining chip when some old wiring was uncovered, which ended up saving me money to cover that plus a variety of other necessary fixes that were clear from a basic visual inspection.
You are looking for validation to have your 'friend' buy it.
We are not in that line of business.
You misunderstood! I was looking for other information to help him out. I'm trying to talk him out of it really and to look around before he jumps into it. To fix it up might be about the same cost as another one in our community that has tons of upgrades and all you need is your toothbrush!
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