Buying a flipped house comes with both perks and risks. One big advantage is that the renovations are already done for you, making it a hassle-free option—short of buying a brand-new home, which often comes with a higher price tag.
However, not all flipped homes are created equal. Some buyers have moved into what seemed like beautifully updated homes, only to uncover shoddy renovations. For instance, new carpets might hide damaged flooring, or sleek cabinets could conceal outdated plumbing. What looked like a dream home turned out to still need major work.
But there’s a way to enjoy all the advantages of a flipped home without these pitfalls: pre-purchasing a flipped property.
Advantages of Pre-Purchasing a Flipped Home
You can pre-purchase a home before the property is ready for occupancy. This usually refers to newly constructed residences, but it can also refer to homes undergoing renovations as part of a flip.
Pre-purchasing a flipped home comes with several key advantages, including:
- Sidestepping the pressure of open-bidding wars
- Profiting from Legal Safeguards and Conditions
- Having more control over the final design
- Lessening the emotional ups and downs
Sidestepping the pressure of open-bidding wars
One of the toughest challenges when buying a home is dealing with the competition in the open market. With limited properties and plenty of buyers, homes that seem affordable can quickly attract multiple offers, driving the price beyond your budget.
Inexperienced buyers, in particular, may end up raising their bids beyond their means, eventually purchasing a home that stretches their finances too thin, leaving them “house poor.”
However, by pre-purchasing a flipped home, you can bypass the open market entirely. You just need to know where to find the opportunities.
Legal Safeguards and Conditions
A recurrent concern when buying a flipped home is the fear that the renovations weren’t done properly. No one wants to pay top dollar for a house only to find it’s worth much less than expected. Inexperienced buyers may miss warning signs of poor renovations, leading to costly mistakes.
However, when you pre-purchase a flipped home from a trusted company, you get built-in protections to ensure you’re getting exactly what you’re paying for.
For instance, when buying one of our presale homes, you’ll have all the typical contingencies you’d expect with any standard home purchase:
- Appraisals: You can request an appraisal—sometimes more than one—depending on your lender’s requirements.
- Home Inspections and Walkthroughs: You can inspect the property before and after renovations are complete. You can also hire a third-party inspector to thoroughly assess the home’s condition.
- Contractor History: You’ll know exactly who did the work on the property. That is a level of transparency that’s not always available with traditional flips.
- Scope of Work: You’ll receive a list detailing the renovations completed, so you know exactly what’s been updated.
Pre-purchasing a flipped home also makes appraisals easier. Many standard flippers won’t allow multiple appraisals. That is because they’re under pressure to sell quickly, especially if they used a hard money loan. This can be problematic for buyers using FHA loans, which require multiple appraisals. When you pre-purchase, you avoid these hurdles and gain more flexibility in the process.
The transaction usually begins while the home is still undergoing work, but your contingency period and escrow period may not start until the renovation is complete.
Control Over the Final Design
House flippers can do a great job with renovations, but the style might not align with your personal taste. Many buyers of flipped homes feel they missed the opportunity to influence the design to their liking.
Pre-purchasing a flipped home allows you to have a greater say in the finished product, as long as your selections fit within the renovation’s budget and timeline. Since work is still ongoing, involve yourself in choosing:
- Countertop designs
- Paint colors
- Flooring types
- Door styles
Being able to choose these details ensures the home better reflects your preferences. When you finally move in, you’ll appreciate how it feels tailored to your individual style.
Less Emotional Ups and Downs
One of the biggest perks of pre-purchasing a flipped home is avoiding the emotional ups and downs that come with traditional home buying.
It’s a story many homebuyers know all too well: you find the perfect house, one that fits your budget and your vision for the future. You can picture your family settling in, your furniture in place, and everything falling into place. You make an offer, and the seller shows interest…
…only to find out you’ve been outbid. You counter, hoping to regain control…
And for a brief moment, it looks like you’ve won…
But then, just when you think it’s yours, another offer comes in, and this time, the price is too high to compete with.
Home buying can be a stressful emotional rollercoaster, especially for first-time buyers or those looking for a family home. But it doesn’t have to be that way. When you pre-purchase a home through a trusted company like CT Homes, you bypass the competition. You won’t fall in love with a property only to have it slip away.
Pre-purchasing a flipped home ensures that you’ll get exactly what you expect—no bidding wars, no surprises. You know the price and the quality upfront, so there’s no heartbreak involved.
Summary
Pre-purchasing a flipped home offers many benefits. You can access off-market properties and avoid bidding wars. You’ll also enjoy the same protections as a standard home purchase and might even get to choose design features. Plus, pre-purchasing helps you skip the emotional ups and downs of traditional home buying.