In recent years, house flippers have increasingly prioritized profit over investing their time and effort into creating better products and beautifully characterized homes.
House flipping is a term recognized for when someone purchases a property, renovates it and sells it for a substantial profit. Unfortunately, this often entails resorting to bland and cheap renovation materials and cutting corners to maximize earnings.
Typical renovation costs range anywhere from $20,000 to $70,000, and flippers tend to aim for profit margins of 10%-20% of the property’s retail value.
In this process, houses are remodeled with the goal of mass appeal, resulting in a sterile and uninviting space. Flippers prioritize speed and profit over quality, as the longer the house sits without a sale, the more money they lose.
These entrepreneurs frequently strip homes of their distinctive features, such as intricate chandeliers, original wallpaper, kitchens or vintage floors. “Historical homes are a piece of our history that we should put more effort into preserving,” senior Helania Moran stated.
Oftentimes, flippers take historic homes with original stories and one-of-kind designs and transform them into modern farmhouses with a bland beige color scheme.
Sometimes, flippers prioritize making a profit over preserving the history and unique qualities of a house. “I think people who want modern houses should just purchase modern homes instead of stripping the original house of its character and history,” expressed junior Morgan Baird.
The lack of color and comfort makes a house feel less like a home and more like an office. For example, a trend on TikTok shows millennials buying old houses and flipping them into a sleek, white and modern look. Many flippers don’t realize the historical significance behind many of these homes; instead, they exemplify the mindset of chasing trendy aesthetics.
This is part of a wider movement of “beige moms,” discarding comfort and chasing modern trends.
Using cheap materials to replace floors and neglect proper preparation, such as sanding the walls before they paint. Along with stripping the beauty of homes, house flippers strip the home of quality too.
Low-quality renovations negatively affect the sale of the house, as buyers notice the lack of effort put into the home. “Trends in house flipping favor cheap fixes over preservation and leave many beautiful homes looking like cookie-cutter houses you could find in any contemporary neighborhood,” said Moran.
Cheap renovations can scam buyers into spending more money than necessary, while purchasing a badly flipped home.
