6 years later, it’s finally DONE.

A flipper swindled us, resulting in over $100,000 in house repairs. We spent years undoing his predatory remodeling, rebuilding the house ourselves, and blogging every step of the way. Debt, depression, and therapy will continue for years to come. But today the reconstruction project passed its final inspection from the city building official. I can’t stop sobbing. It’s done. The ordeal is officially done.

Floorplan for a finished basement showing 2 bedrooms, a full bathroom, family room, and a laundry room.
A finished basement without furniture, showing recessed lighting, wood grain vinyl flooring, and double French glass doors.
Double French glass doors in a bedroom.
Two closets in a garden-level basement bedroom with an egress window.
Two empty closets with the doors open showing closet organizing systems and bright LED lighting.
Panoramic view of a bedroom showing double French doors, two closets each with double doors, and an egress window.
A finished basement laundry room with wood plank vinyl flooring, white laundry machines, white cabinetry, laundry tub, a refrigerator, and a commercial rolling shelf.
A finished basement laundry room with wood plank vinyl flooring, white laundry machines, white cabinetry, laundry tub, and a refrigerator.
A bathroom vanity with a marble top, two sinks, two oval mirrors, ornate sconce lighting, and two monogrammed towels.
A bathroom with a tiled shower and towel bars mounted to the back of the door.
And empty family room with a TV mount and structured media panel. The rest of the room is empty.
An egress window in a basement bedroom.
A bare closet shown without doors or shelving.
The underside of a staircase has an arched support, and is finished with textured paneling.
A pet portal is a small archway that allows pets to move between rooms, even when doors are closed.
Beneath a staircase, a pair of crates are used as drawers. The underside of the staircase if finished with textured paneling.

Now, we can move back into the lower level, knowing that it is correct, complete, and there are no more hidden problems hidden by a flipper. This signed building permit is the proof that this awful ordeal is finally done and over with.

A building permit that has passed final inspection, signifying that the project is done.

A story in 11 pictures

Here is the same view from the bottom of the stairs as seen over the years.

Basement photo dated 10/01/2012 showing its condition when the flipper bought the house. A load bearing column was in place.
A basement room showing the condition of the house when a flipper put it back on the market in May of 2013. A load bearing column has been removed and is missing from the photo.
Photo of a finished basement dated June 2013 when demolition begins. Some drywall is missing from one stud wall.
A finished basement with partially demolished drywall and a soffit dated August 2013.
A finished basement as seen in January 2014 with a load bearing column replaced under a central beam.
A finished basement undergoing demolition as seen in this photo dated November 2017.
An empty basement with bare walls prepared for drain tile installation.
A stud wall is installed in an unfinished basement as seen in February 2018.
Panoramic view of an unfinished basement with bare stud walls as seen in December 2018.
A panoramic photo of a partially finished basement with unpainted drywall, dated March 2019.
Panoramic view of a finished basement as seen in May of 2019.

What’s next?

I’m going to continue working on local, state, and federal legislation to prevent predatory remodeling and providing real consequences for flippers who practice it.

Will we find more problems that the flipper hid? Maybe. But not on this level of the house.