Please listen to me : DO NOT... DO NOT.... ABSOLUTELY NOT...

[TheHaitian]

EVER BUY A FLIP! 

This going to be the death of me, it is the gift that keeps on giving.  So in another thread I posted that there was some mold in the basement I needed to get checked by my contractor. He came last week and said he needed to remove the wall to see where the leak was coming from the shower.

Come today, wall is removed and SURPRISE : whoever fucking built the shower in the basement did not put a liner.  So since my brother has been living downstairs since last year (taking regular showers DUH) so water been slowly siping into the wall, the floor and entrance door

Quote : a minimum of 5k and can go up to 10Kand more;  because the whole shower needs to be taken out : not a top but a tiled shower.  Then fixed all the mold has extended into the bathroom/wall and even entrance/exit door.

I am so Freaking livid... it has been one thing after another in this house and discovering how they cut corners at every single chance they could 

[chiver78]

ugh.....I'm sorry. I definitely feel your pain with this place, too. here's hoping it's closer to that minimum number than the other side of it. 

[sesfw]

Carl, I'm sorry ........... this is awful.

It will take a bit of time but they can get rid of mold.  Just don't breathe any of it.

Hugs to you and family

[TheHaitian]

I wonder if I can sue the Flipper that sold me this house? I really want to know

I remember (correct me if I am wrong) when we were selling our home in 2016, the lawyer mentionning (in MA) that if we sold our house knowing of some issues and not declare it we would be liable.

Our neighbor stated to us all the problems we are having or have been having the past 5 years are issues the previous owner used to have to. So they did not fix the issues, they only did some superficial work.

aka put lipstick on a PIG 

[TheHaitian]

Great... 5k estimate was just labor estimate. So I am fucked... it is about ~10k everything included on the low end.

[gs11rmb]

Aug 5, 2021 9:49:28 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

I wonder if I can sue the Flipper that sold me this house? I really want to know

I remember (correct me if I am wrong) when we were selling our home in 2016, the lawyer mentionning (in MA) that if we sold our house knowing of some issues and not declare it we would be liable.

Our neighbor stated to us all the problems we are having or have been having the past 5 years are issues the previous owner used to have to. So they did not fix the issues, they only did some superficial work.

aka put lipstick on a PIG 

I don't think that could be used as evidence that the owners knew about the problems.  What about your inspection report?

Also, the situation sucks and you have my sympathies.

[susana1954]

TheHaitian, I'm right there with you. One of the previous owners of my house used fiberglass panels to do a massive cover-up that the home inspector did not catch.



I knew the shower leaked and that there was some damage. I was not prepared for the extent. Imagine discovering an entire ceramic tile shower underneath. What was under that was even worse. In addition to the mold and other damage, the outside studs had rotted. There was also termite damage because they love damp, rotting wood. It was a mess.



It is all fixed now, $11,200 later.



Here are some pictures.  Look closely at the studs in the third picture.  The contractor did "sister" studs, where you nail the new studs to the old studs.  There are almost no studs left in some parts.  The last picture is my pretty new shower.

[Deleted]

Aug 5, 2021 10:54:01 GMT -5 gs11rmb said:

What about your inspection report?

Also, the situation sucks and you have my sympathies.

Check the wording of the inspection report. They may disclaim any liability for anything they missed, but some limit liability to what you paid for the inspection. If you could get a refund that would help a little.

[minnesotapaintlady]

I would think it would be really hard to prove they knew about or an inspector missed something 5 years later.  If the shower has just started being used in the past year, then it could have been recent damage...yeah...due to shoddy workmanship, but nothing the inspector would have seen back then.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Aug 5, 2021 9:49:28 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

I wonder if I can sue the Flipper that sold me this house? I really want to know

I remember (correct me if I am wrong) when we were selling our home in 2016, the lawyer mentionning (in MA) that if we sold our house knowing of some issues and not declare it we would be liable.

Our neighbor stated to us all the problems we are having or have been having the past 5 years are issues the previous owner used to have to. So they did not fix the issues, they only did some superficial work.

aka put lipstick on a PIG 

It’s not worth it…..

My sister and her DH built a house and in the master bath (and likely the other bath too) they also did not put in any sort of moisture barrier behind the shower.  Because of this, the tiles started dropping off in the shower just as they were getting ready to sell.  They lived in the house less than 2 yearsl and had to tear apart the master bath shower to fix it to sell.  

The only reason why they didn’t have to do the second shower was that the shower was not frequently used, so no tiles loosened up.  It probably was built the same way.  

The house was built by a reputable builder, who contracted out the tiling.  They looked into litigation, and it just wasn't worth it financially.  

[Value Buy]

Aug 5, 2021 13:27:02 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Aug 5, 2021 9:49:28 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

I wonder if I can sue the Flipper that sold me this house? I really want to know

I remember (correct me if I am wrong) when we were selling our home in 2016, the lawyer mentionning (in MA) that if we sold our house knowing of some issues and not declare it we would be liable.

Our neighbor stated to us all the problems we are having or have been having the past 5 years are issues the previous owner used to have to. So they did not fix the issues, they only did some superficial work.

aka put lipstick on a PIG 

It’s not worth it…..

My sister and her DH built a house and in the master bath (and likely the other bath too) they also did not put in any sort of moisture barrier behind the shower.  Because of this, the tiles started dropping off in the shower just as they were getting ready to sell.  They lived in the house less than 2 yearsl and had to tear apart the master bath shower to fix it to sell.  

The only reason why they didn’t have to do the second shower was that the shower was not frequently used, so no tiles loosened up.  It probably was built the same way.  

The house was built by a reputable builder, who contracted out the tiling.  They looked into litigation, and it just wasn't worth it financially.  

How many national builders use anything than green board on the walls in bath and shower areas before tiling the surface? Is that the protective cover eveyone is talking about? I have been in homes under construction and seen nothing added to the green board before tiling. Greenboard is just a higher protective sheet of drywall to prevent moisture damage on the inside of the drywall.

[busymom]

DD just bought a house where the inspector screwed up.  The best she's been able to do, and she's working on this, is getting a refund for the cost of the original inspection.  She's on the hook, apparently, for the cost of the repairs.  Not fair, of course...

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Aug 5, 2021 13:32:41 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Aug 5, 2021 13:27:02 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

It’s not worth it…..

My sister and her DH built a house and in the master bath (and likely the other bath too) they also did not put in any sort of moisture barrier behind the shower.  Because of this, the tiles started dropping off in the shower just as they were getting ready to sell.  They lived in the house less than 2 yearsl and had to tear apart the master bath shower to fix it to sell.  

The only reason why they didn’t have to do the second shower was that the shower was not frequently used, so no tiles loosened up.  It probably was built the same way.  

The house was built by a reputable builder, who contracted out the tiling.  They looked into litigation, and it just wasn't worth it financially.  

How many national builders use anything than green board on the walls in bath and shower areas before tiling the surface? Is that the protective cover eveyone is talking about? I have been in homes under construction and seen nothing added to the green board before tiling. Greenboard is just a higher protective sheet of drywall to prevent moisture damage on the inside of the drywall.

Only drywall.  No moisture barrier found whatsoever when they started fixing things.  

Just because builders should do something, it doesn't mean that they do.  As I said, the shower got contracted out and the builder denied responsibility when they went back to him to try to get things fixed.  

[jerseygirl]

Yep my son bought his first house snd had big problems with covered by throw rug rotten floor boards, rotted windows and major roof leaks
Inspector ‘missed’ these. These so called inspectors seem to have no accountability for problems

[Tiny]

Aug 5, 2021 13:32:41 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Aug 5, 2021 13:27:02 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

It’s not worth it…..

My sister and her DH built a house and in the master bath (and likely the other bath too) they also did not put in any sort of moisture barrier behind the shower.  Because of this, the tiles started dropping off in the shower just as they were getting ready to sell.  They lived in the house less than 2 yearsl and had to tear apart the master bath shower to fix it to sell.  

The only reason why they didn’t have to do the second shower was that the shower was not frequently used, so no tiles loosened up.  It probably was built the same way.  

The house was built by a reputable builder, who contracted out the tiling.  They looked into litigation, and it just wasn't worth it financially.  

How many national builders use anything than green board on the walls in bath and shower areas before tiling the surface? Is that the protective cover eveyone is talking about? I have been in homes under construction and seen nothing added to the green board before tiling. Greenboard is just a higher protective sheet of drywall to prevent moisture damage on the inside of the drywall.

There's another "color" of drywall for use in showers (not green - maybe blue?  or Purple?)  -  green board is more expensive than drywall (it's not waterproof)  the other "color" drywall that used in showers is even more expensive than green board.        Generally you just use it in the shower/tub surround so while it's expensive you don't need a whole room of it.  

I don't think greenboard is really recommended for tub/shower surrounds.... 

When my family does a DIY gut and re tile of bathroom tub/shower surround - we use the better for the application  "color" stuff.   I don't know why my brain is coming up blank.... 

Green board maybe used along the counter top and behind the sink in a kitchen or behind a sink in a bathroom  and for the rest of the bathroom if it's a small room - but not in the tub/shower surround.  

[Tiny]

Carl, I am so sorry.     You aren't alone.   

The young couple (with 2 little kids) found out with in the first month (May 2021) of owning their Flip that it's not what they thought it was.   They've already had a foot of water in the refinished basement.  The "sewer check valve" was installed in July. 

They've figured out the wooden garage is mostly rotted wood - the Flipper re-sided the garage with mismatched colored sections of vinyl siding (I'm guessing scrap from other jobs) and then painted the garage to hide the puzzle piece look.   I'm guessing the flipper didn't want to spend to have the garage torn down and re-built so they did the cheapest quickest thing.    The new owner is looking at spending between 10K and 15K to replace the garage.  I'm thinking they will have to do it eventually (within 5 years) as it's going to fall down.   After the big storm that flooded the basement and produced 50 mph winds - the garage shifted and now leans to one side.    

The house passed all the city codes and permits were pulled for all the work.   I'm sure the inspection for the mortgage came back "clean".    



 I know I made fun of "who would buy this flipped house!"  and was kind of hostile towards the buyer - but I realize now I should be angry at the flipper, the inspector, the real estate agent and maybe my City  for allowing the house to get to the condition it's in.    The buyers who got hoodwinked are not at fault.   It's a house with good bones, on a good street, in a good neighborhood - it's a shame it got "flipped".  It should have been remodeled/fixed up correctly.     

[chiver78]

yup - cement board for tile projects. 

I'm wondering if I should stop using my main shower until I can get the floor tile off the walls and the whole thing re-done. the last guy basically built a tub surround with extra LVP and continued straight up the wall. no grout, but more of the sealant used on the floor for the lot of it.    when we took down the plastic trim for this mess, you can clearly see that the sheetrock was cut at the edge of where this "tile" starts, 2" out past the edge of the tub surround. it's basically a shit show, but there's no gaps in the sealant so I've been using the shower. I've got the gap covered now, with a wooden 1/4-round piece that is silicone-sealed at the edge of the "tile" for now. I hadn't planned on touching the bathrooms til last, but it got shuffled up the list recently. the shit show of the tile situation, while not surprising, was unexpected. 

[chiver78]

Aug 5, 2021 15:51:59 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Carl, I am so sorry.     You aren't alone.   

The young couple (with 2 little kids) found out with in the first month (May 2021) of owning their Flip that it's not what they thought it was.   They've already had a foot of water in the refinished basement.  The "sewer check valve" was installed in July. 

They've figured out the wooden garage is mostly rotted wood - the Flipper re-sided the garage with mismatched colored sections of vinyl siding (I'm guessing scrap from other jobs) and then painted the garage to hide the puzzle piece look.   I'm guessing the flipper didn't want to spend to have the garage torn down and re-built so they did the cheapest quickest thing.    The new owner is looking at spending between 10K and 15K to replace the garage.  I'm thinking they will have to do it eventually (within 5 years) as it's going to fall down.   After the big storm that flooded the basement and produced 50 mph winds - the garage shifted and now leans to one side.    

The house passed all the city codes and permits were pulled for all the work.   I'm sure the inspection for the mortgage came back "clean".    



 I know I made fun of "who would buy this flipped house!"  and was kind of hostile towards the buyer - but I realize now I should be angry at the flipper, the inspector, the real estate agent and maybe my City  for allowing the house to get to the condition it's in.    The buyers who got hoodwinked are not at fault.   It's a house with good bones, on a good street, in a good neighborhood - it's a shame it got "flipped".  It should have been remodeled/fixed up correctly.     

I hate this for them, for anyone that gets screwed on a flip. my last house was a flip, purchased as an estate sale. I recognized the contractor's name as a trustworthy one (my dad's in the industry, he knows everyone it seems) so I went forward with it. for this current house that has had its share of issues already, I didn't consider it a flip as the seller did the work 4y ago and lived here since. so far, everything that has needed professional attention has been a result of improper installation. we won't talk about the cosmetics....I noticed a lot of it when I walked through, and my agent commented on it. cosmetic didn't bother me all that much, that's generally pretty easy to fix when you have the time. but I wasn't expecting having to re-pipe the drain lines in the basement because there were bellies in the lines behind walls in the finished basement. I'd love to know how that plumbing inspection went.... 

[Deleted]

Ugh! I’m sorry you’ve had so many problems with your house Carl.

I don’t know how anyone with a conscience can sell a house knowing there are issues and not at least disclose the problems even if they don’t fix them. Especially when they are hazardous to people’s health and/or safety.

I’ve been disgusted with the previous owner of our house since right after after we moved in because the masks started falling apart immediately.

Back in May, I decided to paint. I pulled the dryer to the middle of the room when I painted our laundry room, and there was a lot of lint on the floor and wall behind it. It’s the dryer the sellers left, so we’d never seen behind it. I told Mister about the lint. He called someone to come out and clean the vent.

Well, we found out that our dryer was vented into the attic. Not through the attic then through the roof to outside. Just into the attic and quite a ways across it, using plastic tubing that’s not smooth, but like a spring (I can’t think of the correct term atm), literally held up by strings as it went sideways for several feet, complete with dips, before just stopping under one of the whirlybird on the roof. There was lint all over that end of the attic. 

I thank God I decided to paint the laundry room, which led to that discovery. Any homeowner should know that lint from a dryer needs to be able to freely vent to outside the house (and not into a damn attic) and allowing the venting to clog with lint is a fire hazard. My conscience wouldn’t allow me to sell a house where I’d rigged something up that was a potentially deadly hazard like that. How would I be able to live with myself if I did that and the unthinkable happened? 

Out of all the effort and money we’ve had to spend fixing shit he fucked up, and it’s been a lot, that one pissed me off the most, because we and our children were in danger and we didn’t know it. After we finally got it fixed (finding someone to cut the hole in the roof was the holdup and Mister finally just paid a company to do it all), Mister cleaned the vent (apparently cleaning it wasn’t included in the money we paid to fix it ) and the amount of lint that came out was unreal.

Dummy knew that shit was rigged up and not done correctly, and he knew children would be living here when he accepted our offer on the house. That really makes me angry. If I ever see him and recognize him, it would be hard to resist punching him in the throat even though he’s too big for me to not get my ass kicked. 

[finnime]

Sorry about your house woes, TheHaitian.

My house was not a flip but the prior owner was a less-than-skilled DIYer who rigged things that, 18 years later, I'm still addressing. They all looked good, though! The one thing the inspector caught was the unpermitted electric work to the hot tub. That $3000 got taken off the purchase price and I had it redone.

All houses have quirks and do need repairs and maintenance. But to slap paint or tile over rot or jury-rigged construction is inexcusable.

Now, back to my 2-page list of fixes to get the house up to snuff. . .

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Reading these posts makes me glad I went against Phil's addage and bought my grandmother's house from my parents.  As I pointed out to DH every house is going to have some sort of problem, we've lived in this house for almost a decade we already know everything.  Doesn't it make more sense to buy the house whose problems we know, can anticipate and have already planned for then end up in a house where we find out we're going to have to shell out $20k for foundation issues?

[bookkeeper]

Our house in Nebraska had the dryer vented to the attic.  The house was a bank repo in horrible shape.  The shingles were curled, we thought from age.

After about 6 months, the pipe for the dryer was completely full of lint.  That is when we discovered that it went to the attic space to spread humidity up there.  We re routed the dryer vent to the outside wall and abandoned the previous mess.  This house was built in the 1970's and the dryer vent went up two stories before it dumped into the attic space.  Gravity and dryer lint eventually took over.

The shingles laid back down and we got another 10 years out of the roof.  Good example of how saving $100 can cost you way more.

[bookkeeper]

My brother bought a home from a private party.  He has lived in it 20 years.  He and his wife were having allergy and breathing problems.  Their master bath in their bedroom was always musty smelling and never seemed to dry out.  They finally had enough and started tearing out the sheetrock in their bedroom.

Walls filled with mold.  The bedrooms in this house are on the lower level, like a walkout basement.  The drain pipe on the front of the house went down into a pipe under the blacktop driveway to - NOWHERE!  For years all the rain water from the front of the house was running right down their bedroom wall.

Who would asphalt over a drain pipe that runs directly against the foundation of a house?  Lipstick on a pig.  Now he is in the process of ripping out that musty moldy master bath.  Thousands of dollars worth of damage could have been avoided with less than $100 worth of gutter supplies.

[Tiny]

In all honesty - all houses have issues.  No "perfect" house ever remains that way. 

People do "patches" and "DIY" stuff that works ok or looks ok but wasn't done "right way" or to code (or to a new code standard). 

I have water damage on my living room ceiling from decades ago (maybe 50 years ago... ) The ceiling is plaster.   It's patched and painted and looks fine until the paint gets old (and dusty).   I've had the living room painted twice over the last 25 years - both times by a professional painter (a family friend who I paid to do the work) and he did do some "repair and clean up" to the patched area the first time he painted. he didn't have the time to really do the whole area and all the steps so he got the process started.   And then he did some more the second time (15 years later).  It does look better.  The ceiling issue is purely cosmetic.  It's not dangerous or getting worse or hiding a bigger problem.   Me, the painter, and any of my relatives who habitually "evaluate" houses are the only one's who ever noticed the problem.    The 'right way' to fix the ceiling would be to tear it out and redo the entire ceiling - but that's not happening.    

Sometimes you have to 'choose' your battles.  Sometimes you have to decide what's "Good Enough".  

I totally agree with the:    "to slap paint or tile over rot or jury-rigged construction is inexcusable"   especially when it's represented to a buyer as being in good condition.    I get knowingly doing "jury rigs" to get you, the owner and user of said jury rig,  thru until you can repair or replace correctly.  But to represent it as "good working condition" is wrong.  

[Tiny]

The thing with Flips is they are "marketed" as "new and perfect!" with the buyer assuming they won't have to do any major work to the house.  All of the problems with the house have supposedly been correctly repaired/replaced and all the trimmings in the house have been replaced with the current trends in house decorations.     A Flip commands a top dollar price - because all the "work" has been done. It's move in ready and trendy looking! 


A dated house (even one in good working order (nothing hidden with paint or rugs or covered up) does not command top dollar but might be a better value than a high priced flip.   Even if some problems need to be fixed the right way by the new owner. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Aug 6, 2021 10:50:54 GMT -5 Tiny said:

The thing with Flips is they are "marketed" as "new and perfect!" with the buyer assuming they won't have to do any major work to the house.  All of the problems with the house have supposedly been correctly repaired/replaced and all the trimmings in the house have been replaced with the current trends in house decorations.     A Flip commands a top dollar price - because all the "work" has been done. It's move in ready and trendy looking! 


A dated house (even one in good working order (nothing hidden with paint or rugs or covered up) does not command top dollar but might be a better value than a high priced flip.   Even if some problems need to be fixed the right way by the new owner. 

Yeah DH was carrying on about that in regards to our house.  It was built in 1942 and probably the last time anything was updated was the 1960s if we go by the pattern in the kitchen carpet.

Meanwhile the houses in the lake area were super shiny and new with all the latest everything!

It wasn't until my BIL who is a contractor pointed out all the flaws in the newer houses that DH started to reconsider.  He said those houses were not made to last, they are made to survive about 5-7 years then you flip for a massive profit and make the upcoming major issues the next buyer's problem.  Our house isn't pretty but it is a solid built house that has lasted for decades.   Ripping up carpet or updating cabinets is easy.  Coming up with $20k to fix a sinking/lopsided foundation not so much.

[Lizard Queen]

Even cosmetic changes add up. At least you can see most of the issues when buying it, and you didn't pay top dollar for a cheap cover-up job.

I tell ya, though, our home inspector was worthless. He should have noticed the issue with the chimney design if nothing else (and it pretty much was nothing else).

[Tiny]

Aug 6, 2021 10:57:01 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Yeah DH was carrying on about that in regards to our house.  It was built in 1942 and probably the last time anything was updated was the 1960s if we go by the pattern in the kitchen carpet.

Meanwhile the houses in the lake area were super shiny and new with all the latest everything!

It wasn't until my BIL who is a contractor pointed out all the flaws in the newer houses that DH started to reconsider.  He said those houses were not made to last, they are made to survive about 5-7 years then you flip for a massive profit and make the upcoming major issues the next buyer's problem.  Our house isn't pretty but it is a solid built house that has lasted for decades.   Ripping up carpet or updating cabinets is easy.  Coming up with $20k to fix a sinking/lopsided foundation not so much.

Yes, my nephew and his girl friend got an awesome house - purchased in as in condition - at an amazing low price. They figured in the cost of repairs/fix ups/decorating when they put in a bid and when negotiating the final price. They have estimated about 50K of "fix ups/repairs" because of the new roof they had to put on the house within the first year, and repairing the cracks/seepage problem in the crawl space (common problem that has a very reliable repair - it's just pricey). The inground pool needs some maintenance as well that might be pricey.

They had a "painting house warming party" before moving in -- relatives/friends arrived with spackle, spackle tools, painting tools and what not - and all the old "wall paper borders" got removed (it's the 80s!) and walls repaired (nail holes) and repainted - the whole interior of the house. They had replaced most of the light fixtures in the house - it was the 1980's - the week before the painting party. They tore out the second bathroom and re did it - all DIY and for less than 2K. The other bathrooms are OK - they will most likely leave the master bath as is. It needs a new floor - the previous owner made a bad flooring choice. but that's minor. They will replace the toilet/sink and floor in the 1/2 bath at some point - that's a weekend DIY.

Basically, they are doing all the things a Flipper might do. They are not tearing out the kitchen or master bath which were updated in the 80's with high end quality finishes. The "datedness" can be mitigated with painted walls and eventually replacing the appliances. The dated bathroom stays - it's got lots of nice features and was well done.

Anyway the jist of this is - at the price they paid for the house - they can do all the repairs/fixes and will have paid almost 50K less for the house then if they had bought the house already fixed up. They are handy and have friends/relatives who can help with the DIYs.

I guess the take away here is - it helps if you are handy (or willing to learn) and if you have relatives/friends who are handy (and can then trade "work" with). So, if you do painting or electrical - you trade that "work" with someone who knows plumbing or who can do light carpentry.

And the other take away is that home buyers assume flips to have been done correctly - since they are paying for having someone else having done all the "grunt work" to what was a dated house.  

[susana1954]

With houses selling high lately, I get some pressure from friends and family to sell.

My attitude is that I have spent a lot of time and money righting the problems with this house.  The roof, the gutters/soffits/fascia, the bathroom, the flooring, the paint, the hvac, the drainage, the smooth ceilings in several rooms, fresh paint throughout the house, the relatively new appliances . . . the list goes on and on.  It is one-story and  has a walking ramp.

Why would I want to buy another house and start over with a list of fix-its?  Tiny is right that no house is perfect.  I know what has been done to this one.  And I know the things I had fixed were done right.  It isn't perfect, either, but the fix-it list is getting shorter.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Aug 6, 2021 11:05:41 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Even cosmetic changes add up. At least you can see most of the issues when buying it, and you didn't pay top dollar for a cheap cover-up job.

I tell ya, though, our home inspector was worthless. He should have noticed the issue with the chimney design if nothing else (and it pretty much was nothing else).

I can choose to stare at old cabinets for the rest of my life if I don't want to shell out the money.  I don't HAVE to fix cosmetic stuff if it doesn't bother me I don't care what other people think.  The only time it might be of concern is if I sell and even then I doubt it given the majority of houses here are the same age and look like it.   Carpet in the bathroom must have been a major trend at some point. 

If my foundation is sinking I cannot choose to live with that and would absolutely have to fix it before I could sell the house.

That was more my point.  BIL suggested DH consider carefully which poison he chose.   Buy a house knowing in 5 years you're looking at potential $20k structural issues or live with the original cabinets in your current house.   Looks aren't everything.

I do think things like HGTV feed into that attitude and therefore flippers get away with A LOT if they slap lipstick on the pig.