Someone reached out to me in my DMs and asked me to do a post on this topic. NOTE: As a disclaimer of sorts, I work with a number of investors, some of whom are full- or part-time 'flippers." Additionally, there are flippers across all price points. A flipped house in the $250,000 range is a completely different animal than a flipped house in the $800,000 range.

ALSO: I am not going to name names on some of the notoriously bad flippers in town, mainly because I don't want to get sued. But ask around, and I'm sure you will start hearing some names over and over.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A FLIP:

SYSTEMS: First, evaluate the systems, the most important part of the house. Think of this as the envelope + the "guts" of the house. Evaluate:

• Roof: Is it new? If not brand new, is it slate? Slate is the best kind of roof you can have. PERIOD.Its a 200 year roof. If the roof is not new, and not slate, when was it replaced? If it's recent, and you are offering on the property, make sure to find out who did the roof install and get a copy of the roof warranty paperwork. Nothing irritates me more than a flip with an old roof. Also, if it's a new roof it shouldn't be the cheapest kind of roof, it needs to be dimensional tabbed shingles.
• Exterior cladding (brick, Hardiplank, vinyl, etc.): If it's brick or another kind of masonry like stone or stucco, what kind of condition does the masonry appear to be in? Has the brick been repointed, meaning the mortar joints have been re-mortared? If it has been repointed, has it been done correctly? With houses of a certain age, mainly 1930s and earlier, lime-based mortar must be used due to the softness and porousness of the brick. So houses in many areas of the City (Church Hill, the Fan, Museum District, Ginter Park, Bellevue, etc.) need special mortar. As far as other types of cladding, Hardiplank is better than vinyl in terms of durability. If you are looking at a 1980s-1990s home, avoid Masonite.
• Windows: Have the windows been replaced? If they have, they will often have a lifetime warranty. Make sure to get the installation information. If the windows are original windows, are they operable? What kind of condition are they in? Are there storm windows?
• Electrical system: Has the electrical system been updated? Look at the panel. If it's been updated recently, it should be a 200 amp panel and it should look fairly new. Are the breakers labeled? The breakers are required to be labeled. Is there ACTIVE knob and tube wiring? People freak out about this, and IMO really shouldn't. Oftentimes the knob and tube still exists in the basement and/or attic, but it hasn't been "pulled" because it's a time- and labor-intensive process. Your inspector can easily check to confirm whether knob and tube wiring is active.
• Plumbing: Check out the water and sewer pipes. In older homes the sewer stack(s) would likely have been cast iron and the supply lines likely would have been galvanized steel (useful life of 20-50 years). Have they been replaced? If they have been replaced they are likely either copper or plastic. You should be able to see piping in the basement.
• HVAC: What is the age of the HVAC system? Is it heat pump + A/C or just A/C? If the house has operable radiators, how old is the boiler and what is the fuel source (oil or gas)? If it is oil, or was oil, is the oil tank above ground or under ground? NOTE: If the house had an underground oil tank, often referred to as an "UST," make sure it is properly closed and sealed before closing. The SELLER should pay for this, and you want to make sure you hold on to this paperwork somewhere safe. USTs were most common in the 1940s-1960s, so they are often found in City neighborhoods of that era in the Near West End or South of the River.
• Miscellaneous: Is there a well? A septic system? If you are in the City, has the water line from the street to the house been replaced? How does the yard look? If there is there fencing, is it new?

If the systems are not new, or not of a recent era and in good condition, this is not a great sign for the quality of the flip. But note a good flipper may also buy a "little old lady" house with new or new-ish systems, so if everything is not brand new that does not mean it's a "bad" flip. For example a brick house with a slate roof is a GREAT starting point.

MATERIAL SELECTIONS: Are the materials selected builder grade? For example, are there infamous "booby lights" throughout the house? Are all the fixtures the cheapest off-the-shelf stuff from Lowe's or Home Depot? Or did the flipper make some nicer selections, whether it be with lighting, bath hardware, flooring, etc.? If the finishes that you can see are cheap, I personally take that as a sign the flipper is unlikely to have done the more expensive, unsexy work you can't see behind the walls. And it's probably not completely fair, but if in an older house the flipper does carpet or luxury vinyl tile (LVT) throughout the house, rather than refinishing hardwood floors, I think that's a red flag.

APPLIANCES: I personally think in a flipped house there should be all new appliances. If the flipper cheaped out on an expense as relatively low as the cost of new appliances, I think that's a red flag for the rest of the work. And this is just a pet peeve of mine, but I personally believe above a certain price point the flip should come with a washer and dryer, and a full sized washer and dryer at that, not one of those single stack units.

INSTALLATION: Is the actual work that you can see sloppy? Is flooring installed well, without gaps? Is the painting clean? Have the switch plates been replaced? Are the details done properly? Sloppy work on what you can see = sloppy work on what you can't.

Hope this is helpful. I am sure there are things I am forgetting. u/charlesinrichmond, feel free to jump in.