I did some online research and discovered some photos of the house on Zillow.com dated as recently as October 1, 2012. The pictures showed that the house looked very different and had clearly undergone a major remodel before it was sold to me.
The front entry closet had been removed.
The galley kitchen had been completely gutted and re-done with recycled cabinetry and low-end fixtures. The adjacent dining room had a closet removed.
One of the major kitchen walls had been removed.
In the basement, the flipper removed a load-bearing support column to make the room look bigger!
At this point it had become clear that our house had been purchased by a flipper on October 16, 2012 for $84,900. Over the next 4 months, the flipper secretly remodeled the house without building permits or licensed contractors until February 19, 2013. During the remodel, Major walls had been removed to make the house feel more open. He then re-sold the property to us at a 200% markup.
Additionally, the description of the property states that the house has a new roof, windows, and floors among other things. I can’t help but wonder if these have problems, too.
