We have exhausted our credit limit, and have no more funding for continued repairs (either contracted or DIY). The next several years will be spent paying down our excessive credit card debt for the repairs done to date, and doing any smaller repairs using cash out of pocket.
Attorney General shrugs
We receive a response from the Minnesota Attorney General’s office that includes the same information you could find from an internet search, including remodeling brochures and basic documentation about prosecuting real estate fraud. It’s not very relevant or helpful to our particular case.
On this same day, the Anoka County Property Assessor visits our home and inspects the damage. Based on his observations, he decides to lower our property’s taxable value considerably.
I’ve lost my job
I unexpectedly lost my job because my contract has ended early. This was our primary source of income. I have no doubt that I will find another one soon. But this setback comes at a time when we have maxxed-out our credit cards, when the county attorney has stopped helping us, and when morale is already low. I’ll do my best to keep my chin up.
No way to win this in court
After working with several litigators and fraud attorneys, there seems to be a general consensus that a civil suit would be futile. There is no hope of recovering any damages from the Seller, and no way to win anything from him in court under our current laws.
I renew my pledge to enact laws that protect homebuyers from predatory remodeling.
I’m having literal nightmares about the flipper
My stress from dealing with this house, being unemployed through the holidays, and having no way to prosecute the flipper has taken its toll on my mental health.
I’m angry that the county investigator gave up because they didn’t put much effort into finding him. I was able to find him within a few hours of phone calls. I’m furious that after I found him, all she did was leave a voicemail for him and then close the case when he didn’t call her back. But what sends me over the edge is when I found an invitation to the flipper’s destination wedding. In it, he has the gall to ask guests for cash instead of other gifts.
Today, I’m actually having recurring nightmares about the flipper. In them, I’m at the luxury hotel where he’s partying with his wedding guests. All of the money for this elegant wedding is coming out of my own bank account. I beg him to stop, but he just laughs in my face. I’m waking up every day enraged, exhausted, and depressed.
Flipper hid kitchen wiring problems!
In order to box-in the new kitchen vent stack, I decide to demolish the existing drywall on the adjacent column. Inside the column, I’m surprised to find that one of the corners is only held together by 2″x4″ scabs, and another has no framing at all… held together only by the outside corner bead.
What’s more, the pendant light wiring is not attached to any framing. Additionally, no holes were drilled in the framing for the wires. Instead, the flipper simply ran the wires around the framing, and laid the drywall directly on top of it!
Fixing electrical problems
I continue demolition of the kitchen column in order to address the electrical problems. In the attic I discover yet another wiring splice that was not in a junction box. I added a junction box to the nearby truss and properly attached the wiring to the framing.
Corrected framing and wiring
I correctly re-wire the pendant light switch in a proper switch box and add framing around the exposed vent stack.
Kitchen column drywall
I add drywall and tape to the new framing with an initial layer of joint compound.
What it’s like correcting a bad house flip
The kitchen plumbing vent and the additional electrical problems that were discovered during the rehab added up to almost $1000 and were a good example what what it’s like correcting a bad house flip. I put together this video documenting the experience and demonstrating the repairs that I did.