No Agreement on Inspection Terms.
STRATEGY
Fix and Flip
PROPERTY TYPE
Single Family
SOURCE
MLS
ACQUIRED
Passed
OVERVIEW
This was one of the first deals I looked at once I understood the benefits of the BRRRR and the flip.
That meant looking at houses that need real work.
I also wanted to avoid the cat and mouse game that comes with off-market deals.
So I searched the MLS.
I found this house in December.
It was listed at $55,000.
I made my offer in January.
I asked for one thing before I committed.
We never reached an agreement on it.
THE OFFER
The house needed a lot.
A roof.
HVAC.
Plumbing.
Flooring and subflooring.
Gutters.
The photos matched that list.
Overgrown yard. Open cabinet boxes in the kitchen. Plumbing stubbed out in the bathroom with no fixtures. A hole in the bathroom floor. A hole in a bedroom wall.
Kitchen
Bathroom
A bedroom
With a house in that condition, I wanted to know what was behind the walls.
I wanted to check for major electrical issues, piping issues, and anything else that could turn this into a poor deal.
I offered $48,000 on a $55,000 listing.
My offer included a contingency that the utilities be on for an inspection.
You cannot judge plumbing, electrical, or HVAC in a dark house with dry pipes.
Here is why that mattered to me.
It is my rule right now.
Some investors buy without the utilities on and accept that risk.
I am not willing to take it at this point in my investing career.
The big costs in a house like this are the ones you cannot see.
Electrical. Plumbing. HVAC.
They can move a rehab budget the most.
A BRRRR depends on knowing that budget before you buy.
My rule may change as I learn more.
It may also mean I see fewer deals.
That is a trade I am willing to make for now.
Utilities off. No inspection.
We never reached an agreement on that request.
Because of that, we never went under contract.
Peers in my real estate program also looked at the deal.
They thought it needed more work than the price allowed.
They told me to go lower to build in a margin of safety.
A contractor gave me a rough verbal quote of roughly $70,000.
The deal never got far enough for me to vet it.
I thought it was high, and I would have needed a different contractor for this house.
THE SILENCE
After I asked for the utilities to be on, I heard nothing.
The agent did not say they would check with the seller.
The agent did not say they would get back to me.
With no word back, I took it that the deal was not going forward.
So I kept looking.
I put an offer in on another property.
A few days later the agent came back.
They said the seller would agree to my terms.
By then I had moved on.
I do not know what happened on their side.
I know what I heard, which was nothing.
THE SELLER
From the public information I could find, the owner appeared to be a large institutional fund.
I do not know their strategy.
It felt like they were playing hardball.
As far as I could tell, they were not moving on price.
As far as I could tell, they were not moving on my request.
Then the agent stopped responding.
I took that to mean the deal was not going forward.
I had no way to verify what I was buying.
I no longer wanted to proceed with this seller.
THE DEAL
My plan was a BRRRR.
I would buy with a hard money loan and rehab the house.
Then I would refinance into a 30 year DSCR loan.
The comps I pulled ranged from about $100,000 to well above $120,000.
I did not get far enough on this deal to firm up the financial forecast.
So I am not going to do a deep dive on returns.
I would rather be honest than guess at theoretical numbers.
This would have been a long distance renovation.
I would not have been on site to see any of it.
WHY I PASSED
Three reasons.
I had no way to verify what I was buying.
I could not inspect the plumbing, electrical, or HVAC without the utilities on.
The communication stopped.
After I asked for the contingency, I heard nothing.
I took the silence to mean the deal was not going forward, so I moved on.
I did not pursue another contracting bid.
My estimate was $40,000.
One rough verbal quote came in at roughly $70,000.
The deal never got far enough for me to spend time on a second bid.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
Price drop of $20k
The house did not sell.
Nine months later, the seller cut the price by $20,000.
As of October 2026, the listing is $35,000, down from $55,000.
The seller did not want to make a concession.
The market made it for them.
I am glad I walked.
I am not saying $35,000 makes this a good deal.
The roof, the HVAC, the plumbing, and the floors still need work.
I would still want to see inside it with the utilities on.
A NOTE ON SELLERS WHO SIT
Some sellers hold hundreds or thousands of properties.
Some of them wait for a price target and do little in the meantime.
A vacant house with no utilities does not help the street it sits on.
I understand that this is business.
I also think it is hard on the communities.
BRRRRs and flips do the opposite.
They take a vacant, failing house and bring it back.
A rehabbed house gets a new roof, working plumbing, and someone living in it.
Occupied, maintained homes tend to lift the homes around them.
That is part of why I want to do this work.
WHAT THIS ACTUALLY TELLS ME
A deal needs two parties willing to communicate.
Price is only one part of that.
When I cannot verify what I am buying, and the other side goes quiet, I move on.
The market eventually tells me whether the number was fair.
Pass 1 was a deal I could not verify without a team.
Pass 2 was a deal I could not verify without an inspection.
Both times the answer was to pass.
WHAT I NEED TO OVERCOME THIS
A second contractor bid I trust, before I make an offer.
A walkthrough with the utilities on, so I can underwrite to a real number.
Appraisal grade comps for the ARV, not a range.
An agent who communicates.
One completed BRRRR or flip, so the next decision is not a first-time guess.
GLOSSARY
BRRRR — Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. A strategy where an investor buys a property that needs work, renovates it, rents it, refinances to pull capital back out, and repeats.
ARV — After Repair Value. The estimated market value of a property once renovation work is complete.
Contingency — A condition in an offer that must be met before the buyer is committed. An inspection contingency lets the buyer back out if the inspection does not go well.
Hard Money Loan — A short term, higher rate loan from a private lender, often used to buy and renovate a property before refinancing.
DSCR Loan — Debt Service Coverage Ratio loan. A long term rental loan underwritten on the property's rent rather than the borrower's income.
MLS — Multiple Listing Service. The database real estate agents use to list properties for sale.
Under Contract — A property where buyer and seller have signed a purchase agreement. An offer alone does not put a property under contract.
Blueprint Cee
Nothing here is financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. I am an investor sharing my own experience and what I have learned. I am not an accountant, financial advisor, or tax professional. Numbers are estimates based on my own records and may not be exact. Always consult a licensed professional before making investment decisions.
