Why I Might Tell You NOT to Buy That "Gorgeously" Remodeled home

Here is how to spot a "Lipstick Reno" before you fall in love:

You don’t need a tool belt or an engineering degree to spot a house that’s trying too hard to hide something. Here are a few things you may notice right away: 

1. The "Spongy" Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP)

Flippers love LVP because it’s waterproof, cheap, and looks like expensive European Oak in photos. But floor prep is hard work, and many skip it.

• The Red Flag: When you walk across the room, do you feel a slight "bounce" or hear a clicking sound?

• The Reality: That bounce means the subfloor wasn't leveled. In the best-case scenario, it’s just annoying. In the worst-case scenario, they laid that pretty floor over an active rot or termite damage because replacing a subfloor costs thousands and takes days they didn't want to spend.

• The Human Cost: Six months after you move in, the locking mechanisms on those planks will snap from the constant flexing. Now you’re paying to rip up the "new" floor to fix the rot they hid.

2. The Fresh Paint "Smokescreen" (Especially in Basements)

Paint is the cheapest tool in a flipper's kit. It smells clean, looks bright, and hides a multitude of sins.

• The Red Flag: A basement that smells like a perfume shop or a "fresh linen" candle. Or look for bubbling paint near the floor.

• The Reality: Efflorescence (that white, powdery salt) is a sign of water pushing through concrete. If they just slapped "Drylok" or heavy paint over it without fixing the exterior drainage, that paint will peel off within one rainy season.

• The Human Cost: You aren't just buying a damp basement; you're buying a mold factory. If you have kids or allergies, this "quick fix" becomes a health hazard.

3. The "Electrical Face-Lift"

In 2026, we have more gadgets than ever. Your home's "nervous system" needs to handle the load.

• The Red Flag: Brand new, modern square outlets (the "Decora" style) in a house built in 1940, but the electrical panel in the garage looks like a dusty relic from a submarine.

• The Reality: They replaced the $2 plastic covers to make it look modern, but the wiring behind the walls is still "Knob and Tube" or ungrounded cloth wiring.

• The Human Cost: This isn't just about your TV flickering; it’s a fire hazard. Many insurance companies in 2026 will refuse to insure a home with outdated wiring, meaning you can't even close on the loan until you pay $15k+ for a total rewire.

4. The "Spray Foam" Mystery

In the "quick flip" world of 2026, spray foam has become the new duct tape.

• The Red Flag: Thick, irregular mounds of foam in the "rim joists" (where the house meets the foundation) or covering the attic rafters in an old home or injected into large cracks in the foundation.

• The Reality: Spray foam is incredible when used in new builds (Permitted and certified). But in a reno, Spray foam is not structural. It cannot hold a house together so spraying it in cracks is a lazy fix. Termites and carpenter ants love spray foam. It’s warm, it’s easy to tunnel through, and crucially it protects them from being seen. Wood needs to "breathe." If they sprayed foam over a damp sill plate, that wood is currently fermenting into mush.

• The Human Cost: You won't know the house is sinking until the foam starts to pull away, and by then, the flipper is long gone with your money.

My Take on the Topic

I want to be very clear: Not all flips are bad. In fact, I’ve walked through some incredible renovations where the owners stripped the house to the studs, replaced the cast iron pipes with PVC, upgraded the electrical panel to 200 amps, and took pride in every miter joint and tile line. I love those houses.

But... When you see a home where the baseboards don't meet the floor, the spray foam is used as a "filler" for holes, and the kitchen cabinets feel like they’re made of cardboard, you aren't looking at a "new" home. You’re looking at a deadline. My job is to help you distinguish between the craftsman who poured their heart into a rebuild and the investor who just poured a bucket of paint over a problem.