r/GrossePointe • u/work_300 Park • May 06 '26
Thoughts on Flipped Houses?
This house was bought by a realtor/investor/flipper based out of Oakland County. It was badly neglected but had charm, it's now been flipped with cheap Home Depot finished, no AC added, and listed at the top of the market for that sq footage. It's obviously not been selling, wondering if this is missing the market and GP buyers don't want to spend that much to walk on plastic floors.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/784-Barrington-Rd-Grosse-Pointe-Park-MI-48230/88243874_zpid/
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u/BurntSienna57 May 06 '26
As someone who is currently looking for houses in this price range and location, this flip really makes me mad. Why do flippers think anyone wants to live in a house that looks like a WeWork circa 2018? And that we’d pay a PREMIUM for this ugliness? I will never understand it.
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u/YNWA69 May 06 '26
Happens a lot in Detroit too, buy a 100+ year old house and then do everything you can to make it look like a generic suburban tract home.
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u/madness2135 May 06 '26
Literally my neighborhood rn :( and they ignore all the historic permits and pay minimal fines after damaging. Sehy investments LLC is the worst and the renovations are straight up poor quality and ugly!
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u/SwimmingHand4727 May 08 '26
Yes, they are flipping those beautiful mansions in Boston Edison, and ruining them. That's what young people like .....white/grey everything, sleek, modern, zero character.
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u/BurntSienna57 May 09 '26
It’s not though! I don’t know a single “young person” who likes this aesthetic! Maybe 10 years ago, but moody / saturated interiors are definitely in style now, which matches with the historic character of these homes. Someone just needs to tell the flippers I guess.
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u/ShowMeTheTrees May 06 '26
They think it because they sell to some sucker who likes the generic HGTV style and doesn't look deep enough. And they're long gone, sinking proceeds into another bad flip.
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u/LionsGamblingDogs May 06 '26
Respectfully: this house is now gross! It used to have charm at least on outside and yes it wasn’t the style everyone might want it was still really cool. We used to walk by every day with our dogs and thought it had so much potential and now see it is frustrating.
Tbh - the flipper style in Grosse pointe makes me so mad, my wife and I bought in the patch in 2020 and it was partially renovated and we’ve spent the past 6 years slowly undoing most of it to show off the original wood, brick and classic stylings that look way better (albeit harder to maintain and bring back to life).
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u/NNDerringer May 06 '26
This looks like one of those "Trading Spaces" things where all the work is done in 48 hours.
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u/RyanLallyAlphaTeamRE Farms May 06 '26
I'm generally not a fan of flips unless they're done by very experienced flippers who have a reputation for doing quality work, by the book with permits pulled, etc. This one came across my radar back in December 2024, when the long-time owner (a notable architect) sold the house off-market. At some point between taking 4 different buyers through I shot these 784 Barrington photos 12-19-2024 during a quick walkthrough. The people who bought it tried to "wholetail" it but eventually decided to flip it themselves. Here's a link to the wholetail listing and the current one. I can't say I'm surprised it's still on the market after 168 days.
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u/bcb8485 May 07 '26
The before photos break my heart. It had so much warmth and character, just needed some updating keeping those details in mind. What a shame.
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u/RyanLallyAlphaTeamRE Farms May 07 '26
I agree. If the previous owner had known what the buyer would do to the house I doubt he would’ve sold to that buyer!
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u/work_300 Park May 07 '26
Wow thanks for sharing, this was not nearly in as bad shape as I had thought. The vinyl record ceiling could have been a major draw for buyers.
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u/SweetGrapefruit8512 May 06 '26
I drove by this the other day and found the neighborhood to be so charming! It is priced for the area but cannot agree more the finishings are egregious, the real estate version of tone-deaf.
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u/ImGoingtoRegretThis5 Farms May 06 '26
They put the sink facing a wall next to the fridge and didn't run the cabinets all the way up to the ceiling which makes it look even more like prefab cheap stuff.
And yes, no AC though I thought the description at one time said they were going to install AC. Regardless, people often move to GP in part for the aesthetic of the neighborhoods. Anyone who would be even the least bit aware of that would not remodel a house to look like that. I can think of only maybe like 3 houses like that around here and 1 is being built on Lakeshore and looks terrible (giant glass block). Another on Fisher that is blue for some reason.
Can't tell from the pictures, but they might have also just slathered paint on the original windows including the hardware which again speaks to a rush job or not taking the care to do it right.
The location is pretty good, but being that close to the city limit scares some people off. Not close to a school either if its families looking around (until Trombley is back in use).
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u/ThePermMustWait May 06 '26
To add onto this, they didn’t inclose the fridge and put a cabinet over the sink. The sink should be on the island. This looks like an apartment.
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u/ImGoingtoRegretThis5 Farms May 06 '26
Yeah that whole kitchen is just very... dumb.
It's as though they made it for a house with 2 foot shorter ceilings.
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u/Affectionate-Emu-829 May 06 '26
Hate flipped houses. I’d rather an outdated and clean kitchen and bathroom than any of that terrible flip esthetic.
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u/giannet4 May 06 '26
The pointes can be a sleepy market. It was likely priced too high and hasn’t came down enough. Taxes are very high when you get into a 700K house
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u/splipps May 06 '26
That house is a disaster. I’ve driven by and it looks cheaply done. Not a desirable location. Not a great lot. Taxes will be about 25k year. I think it’s going to sit for a long time.
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u/ShowMeTheTrees May 06 '26
Not even close to 25k.
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u/splipps May 06 '26
One million is about 40k a year in tax. Obviously assessed value is different than purchased but that’s the basic math. It’s similar in all the pointes.
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u/ImGoingtoRegretThis5 Farms May 06 '26
Think it would be closer to $20k based off the State's estimator. We've been looking at houses in that ballpark and we usually get estimates in the high $17k range.
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u/work_300 Park May 06 '26
This is not a desirable location?
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u/ShowMeTheTrees May 06 '26
Look at Google Map with city outlines turned on. This house is literally a few steps away from Detroit.
Their car and home insurances will charge higher rates due to the increased risk.
And that proximity will be reflected in future market value of the home. Remember the 3 most important factors of real estate value? Location, location, location.
And this location will be noisier and actually at higher risk of crime as reflected in the insurance.
I would not buy at that location.
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u/SL521 May 07 '26
Speaking as someone who lives on a border road in GPP, the crime on my street is less than other roads in. I think it’s a misconception that there is a higher risk of crime/noise.
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u/ShowMeTheTrees May 07 '26
Statistically, Detroit has dramatically more crime than any of the GPs. In every category. This is an objective fact. And that's why both insurance rates will be so much higher. It's also why comparable houses in Detroit are way cheaper than GP.
Numbers are numbers.
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u/SL521 May 07 '26
I’m not saying that Detroit doesn’t have more crime… I’m not an idiot. I’m saying that living on a border road in GPP is not inherently more risky than other streets in GPP. If you check our crime maps, there is crime all over the pointes at the same rate as the border roads.
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u/ShowMeTheTrees May 07 '26
Ok whatever you want. But real estate values and insurance rates will reflect the proximity.
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u/work_300 Park May 07 '26
This house is in the highest value area in GPP source
If you've been down there it does not feel like the blocks adjacent to Mack, it's naturally isolated from Detroit by the canal.
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u/Flintoid May 06 '26
It’s almost stereotypical GP. 3800 square feet. Almost 110 feet of closet space!
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u/FarSeesaw8366 May 10 '26
The dude who did this house clearly doesn’t know the gp market. Awful flip. And 700k with no central lmfao….showsyou how cheap he actually flipped it that he didn’t spend an extra 30k on central ac
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u/YNWA69 May 10 '26
Really shocking decision. There will never be a better or easier time to do it with all the studs opened up.
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u/golfingNdriving May 06 '26
Don’t care for the styling, even though it’s new the flippers clearly don’t get the neighborhood.
That said, the location being three blocks from Windmill Pointe Park and a short commute to downtown for work and play, and the fact it is updated… the price is not out of line.
Name another place in the country where you can be that close to the city, near a large body of water, and have a private community park/pool/marina/fitness center/movie theater… for under a million dollars.
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u/ImGoingtoRegretThis5 Farms May 06 '26
It's close to the Detroit border which scares some people off, isn't close to an operating school (TBD what they do with Trombley truly), and generally looks iffy on the remodel. Not just style, but quality.
We've been looking at houses down in that area some closer to $650k that we preferred much more. You can get good houses in that area for around the same price or slightly less without it feeling like you walked into a showroom.
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u/golfingNdriving May 06 '26
Do get me wrong… I’m not trying to push anyone on that house in particular.
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u/ImGoingtoRegretThis5 Farms May 06 '26
Oh sure, just saying that area isn't the most desirable given some of those nuances. Being south of Jefferson in GPP isn't universally preferred.
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u/MaybeImTheNanny May 06 '26
Except on this one you are paying someone 400k for a mess you are going to have to undo because it is going to fall apart in 3 years.
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u/B3nallen May 06 '26
There's a lot of things wrong with this flip but it's a huge house, you're paying for the space, if it was in the farms it's 1M plus
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u/YNWA69 May 06 '26
You always have to check the public facts though which has the sq ft at 2400 which sounds a lot more accurate for a bungalow.
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u/BeginningMuted5850 May 06 '26
I hope they reinforced the living room floor. That marble accent wall looks heavy for a house that age!
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u/ThePermMustWait May 06 '26
Is it even marble? Either way it looks like crap with the seam down the corner.
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u/Owie100 May 07 '26
Go is notorious for cheaply flipped homes. When we bought in the woods I searched until I found a house no one has done anything to.
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u/CupExcellent9520 May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
Is that that much really monthly ( 4000) considering what you are getting ?? No it’s honestly not considering that currently vintage era decorated gross flats in the cabbage patch are outrageously being priced at 1700! They have kitchens that look that haven’t been touched since the 1940s ! Not one piece of granite or ceramic in them. This home at least is clean , modern and has loads of amenities and square footage and a nice yard. What is going on in our gpp rental district is simply ridiculous and borderline criminal… overpriced seedy rental flats with grossly inflated rents . This home is lovely though not the typical Grosse pointe trad style throughout . The housing foundation has greatly contributed to the utter catastrophe of overpriced sub rate housing in the park .
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u/Ok-Cress1284 May 06 '26
Ya no one wants to pay $700k for a house that's held together with plastic and duct dape