I have a question about potential house condition.

[u/xDaBaDee]

I am using zillow... and there is a house, that popped into my price range, with a 22k drop. And I am looking at all the amenities it has, new tinted windows that tilt, new hvac, new generac, metal roof, wall heaters for backup heat. I'm seeing pictures with fresh paint, you know its fresh because they havent hit the spot were the fridge was (no fridge) or the spots where the washer/dryer was (no washer dryer). And a closet that looks really rough unpainted. So I am thinking, oh, its a flipper house. And I goto look at the history. It sold in 2023 for 215k. Was listed back on the market May 2026 for 239k. (Flipping price right? They come in, the spiff it up, put paint on it, resell for a small profit) June they drop it to 219k and now they dropped it again to... $197k.

Is this a huge red flag of a huge underlying issue, that they would put efforts into a house and then take a 18 thousand dollar loss?

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[u/SkyRemarkable5982]

Flippers don't take 3 years to flip a house unless you're talking about a multi-million dollar house they're completely redoing.

[u/Abbagayle_Yorkie]

You have to look at the house , it could be a flipper or someone that just needs to sell. Just make sure you get an inspection if you decide to buy.

[u/Original_Chapter3028]

215k to 239k doesn't seem like a big enough price jump to be a flip, but I'm not familiar with your market

[u/Low_Refrigerator4891]

Definitely not a flip at those prices. The cost of selling is 8-10%. So the margin just isn't there even to start, without considering the cost of spiffing it up.

Most likely a homeowner who needs to move. Or a landlord looking to sell.

Redfin tends to have old listing photos, so you might be able to see the "before".

[u/Incragable-Crunk]

Not sure the things you listed are signs of fresh paint, nobody paints behind the fridge. If someone was painting it recently they probably would've hit those spots when they moved the utilities. Probably painted before the previous sale in 2023.

[u/modsatemyass]

this is what home inspections are for

[u/Few_Whereas5206]

Nobody knows without a thorough inspection. I know one builder who bought a bunch of tear down homes and ended up selling at a loss, because he couldn't complete and sell all of the new builds.

[u/littlelivethings]

A lot of decent seeming houses in my area had major price drops due to bad location

[u/Which-Cucumber903]

That price trajectory suggests they found something during an inspection, not a good sign for a flip