Let me be clear – I’m no fan of house flippers. They’re a menace…

When I trekked from Scottsdale to Tucson in late February, I had a vague idea of what I would find when I stepped foot into casa de la hermosa…, (there were more than enough tell-tale signs in the photographs). Now that we’ve had roughly three months to peel back the layers, it’s even worse than we thought. That said, our mission, (well, maybe it’s more my mission), is to “un-flip” this house, and along the way, we’ll going to share what we discover with you. Here’s why:

1. We’d like to educate whomever stumbles across our humble screed about the hazards of the unscrupulous real estate speculator, a.k.a. “house flipper”. We have absolutely no interest in glamorizing the cable TV grifters tossing paint and tile, (or engineered flooring), about, while naively believing they’re worthy of our collective admiration – they’re not! No, not worthy, not worthy at all…

2. We’ll point out the ridiculousness of this grifter’s short-cuts, then suggest practical, (i.e. cost-effective), alternatives, and show you how we got from one to the other without breaking the bank. Sure, we’ll engage the trades when we have to, (and there are definitely circumstances where doing so makes absolute sense), but if mere mortals can accomplish the task, we’ll attempt to describe/illustrate how we did it.

3. If something we say, (or do), strikes a chord and prompts someone else to commit to doing the right thing, then this entire endeavor was worth it. If “good enough” really isn’t, (good enough), and “…the best we can possibly do…” is truly worthy of pursuit, then you’re our kind of reader – stay tuned! If you happen to be a house flipper, brace yourself, it’s not going to be pretty…

I promise photographs in the next post – a tiny taste of the good, the bad, and yes, the just plain ugly.