Contractors Take Over A Flip House After The Out Of State Owner Hired The Lowest Bidder And The Inspector Found About 300 Problems

Two contractors walk through a flip house, pointing out one problem after another. “You only did this much of the porch.” A little further on: “I can’t believe his blade literally got stuck and he just walked away.” Then comes the line that sums up the whole project: “I will never criticize anybody ever again. Nobody that’s ever worked for us has been this bad. And he got paid.”

Flip house contractors video cover beside a stock photo of a gutted room with support poles.

The scene comes from the YouTube channel Sanborn Construction Group, in a 14 minute video called “Contractor FIRED. Inside The Worst House We’ve Ever Seen.” The two contractors have taken over a flip house, and after an inspector walked through, they say it is far worse than they first thought.

About 300 Problems

The contractors say this house was in their last video, and it turns out to be way worse than they thought. They were originally brought in to fix a couple of issues. Then the inspector came back with about 300 different problems, a phone book’s worth, according to the video’s description. Now the company has been hired to finish the entire project.

What went wrong? In the contractors’ telling, it comes down to one thing. The owner lived out of state, tried to manage the project from a distance, and picked the lowest bidder for everything. In their words, that is what happens when you take the lowest bidder on every single thing and you are not there to manage it. “You get what you get.”

A Tour Of The Trouble

Here are some of the problems the two contractors pointed out as they walked the property.

The porch. Only part of it was done. One of the contractors points out a piece that was almost cut but never finished, and now it is needed.
The saw blade. A blade is shown snapped right in half, and the contractors describe the previous worker’s blade getting stuck, after which he just walked away.
The fence. The contractors say they did not build it. They call it the fastest, cheapest fence they have ever seen put together, with an ugly side and a pretty side. They point to a spot held by a single screw that is not hooked in at the bottom, and they say there is nothing behind some of the boards. Their prediction is blunt: it is going to be terrible in a year.
The gutters. The owner had to spend more on gutters than the contractors think any house has seen in two years, with 6 inch oversized commercial gutters plus more coming off the roofs.

The contractors also take aim at how progress was reported. One of them says that if they took random pictures of the fence, they could make it look good enough. Progress photos, they add, are a skill you have to know how to do, which is one more reason a project manager matters. A photo only shows what the camera was pointed at.

How To Avoid A Lowest Bidder Disaster

You may not be flipping a house, but the same trap can catch any homeowner with a repair list. These tips come straight out of the lessons in this story, plus a few common sense steps.

Do not choose on price alone. The cheapest quote is only a bargain if the work holds up. The contractors in this story say you get what you get.
Be there, or hire someone who will be. The contractors argue that a project manager is important, especially if the owner lives out of state.
Do not trust photos by themselves. As the contractors point out, a few well-chosen pictures can make almost anything look fine. Visit in person, or send a trusted person who knows what to look for.
Get the scope in writing. A clear list of what each person is supposed to do, and by when, makes it harder for a half-finished job to pass as finished.
Pay as the work gets done. Tying payments to completed stages gives you leverage if something goes wrong. Never pay everything up front.
Check references and credentials. Ask for past customers you can call, and confirm any license or insurance your area requires.
Get an inspection. In this case, it was the inspector who revealed the true size of the problem, with about 300 items on the list.
Look closely at the small details. Fastenings, spacing and what is behind a finished surface matter as much as how it looks from the street.

The Bottom Line

Looking at the fence, one of the contractors says it is going to be terrible in a year. That is the hidden cost of the cheapest bid. A cheap job that has to be torn out and redone usually costs more than a fair job done right the first time.

The company that took over the project says it was meant to be a small fix and turned into a full renovation. For homeowners, the message is clear. Take the time to hire carefully, supervise closely, and remember that the lowest bid is only the beginning of the price.

Willow and Hearth