LACK OF INTEGRITY IN THE LITTLE THINGS ......NOT COOL

As we prepare to sell our first home...I have mixed emotions. Sadness, because we're leaving the only home our 3 little children have known. JOYful expectation in not knowing but trusting that the Lord has good in store for us, no matter if we rent for 6 mos or if it takes longer to find our next 'long-term' house that we will call home. BUT MOSTLY I feel discouraged and frustrated by all of the little things that we have to pay for as we prep the house for sale because we bought a house from a greedy house flipper named Jennifer Olstad. I name her name because I want other people who may google her to know the truth that the inspector didn't catch. This is with a hope that she will grow in integrity if she desires to continue buying houses to fix them up. Underneath our brand new deck, we found a huge hole next to our foundation and concluded that that was where the water poured into our basement after our first snow melt. To say that she didn't know that there was a huge hole beneath the deck that was built OVER the hole is just nonsense. We had to then remove the carpet padding from the basement and my husband had to crawl underneath our deck with tons and tons of dirt to fill in the hole. She hired people who either did not know what they were doing or she did the work herself without knowledge of how to do it correctly. Sure, we had brand new tile in all 3 bathrooms and our kitchen when we moved in.....but oh, how the awesomeness fades when the tiles crack as they settle and the grout comes out all over the place, and you can see the dividers that were LEFT BETWEEN THE TILES!!!! We now get to fix all of the tiles and the grading of the floor. Next, our 'brand new roof' over our porch wasn't done correctly, and upon the first hard rain that came down sideways our porch was FLOODED. An inch of water made the floor super slippery and made the room smell dank. After the first snow melt, it became evident that she hired a no-nothing to install the roof. The roof slants TOWARD the house in an area above our dining room from the upper floor. We had to have our insurance company pay for the tremendous amount of damage caused due to the neglectful pathetic work of the cheap laborers Ms.Olstad hired to do the work. As with many flippers, not just Jen Olstad, corners were cut with the railings from the upstairs to downstairs. The railings are actually nailed into DRYWALL. Are you kidding me?? LONG story short, the total damage to our home that was CAUSED and directly related to the work done by Jennifer Olstad or work that she hired out to unqualified individuals has cost us and our insurance company over $15,000. Do not buy a flipped house if you can help it. IF you choose to do so, make sure you research the work of the flipper you're buying from.......ask them to provide references - people who have purchased homes from them at least 5 years ago or longer. (5 yrs is ample time to reveal the corner cutting/crap work) Heads up - Jennifer Olstad sells homes that she owns. I wouldn't buy another home from her ever again. I recently discovered that she works for a real estate company now. (big surprise? not really....she probably saw the amt of money she was paying her realtor to sell her garbage houses and thought, "hey, there's 10k that I could keep for myself.") ** If she shows you a house anywhere - google the county's website where the property is located and see if she is the owner. If she is, do yourself a favor and walk away! Best wishes to you all...... PS..I know one honest and amazing realtor....he's my dad's realtor and now mine...the only honest one I've met. (I was in mortgage and finance for 14yrs prior to being a mother) To Jen Olstad, if you see this note......feel free to contact me. I'm happy to talk...and I just want you to be encouraged and challenged. In a highly digital world, cutting corners in real estate is bad business and it will catch up with you. Word travels much faster these days. Peace to you all who do the right thing, even when no one will know, and even though it takes much more time and money. The Lord bless you for it!