I come across a lot of flippers and there are some differences in them that are worth noting. First of all, they are usually freshly painted inside and out. Now it's not always true that they painted them to hide stuff, like water stains from leaks, but that is a possibility.

Whether or not the home is a flipper or not I ALWAYS look carefully at plumbing under sinks, behind refrigerators, laundry plumbing, toilet plumbing, and water purification equipment. I also run dishwashers and I check the flexible tubing under the sink and I check the air-gap device plumbing for leakage.

Many of the flipper daddies specialize in the application of lipstick. They install new cabinets and counter tops, new doors and door casings and new base floor moldings along with new floors. They paint with the latest fashionable colors and install new white electrical outlets and light switches. This is the first stuff you see when you walk into a house and it's sure to make a good first impression that lasts.

One of the most telling areas to spot a "blow-n-go" flipper is to look in the attic. Flippers like to add can lights and when they use a real (licensed) electrician, it shows immediately in how they leave the attic when they're done. If he strings the Romex wiring like Christmas tree lighting, you know he's just a handyman who thinks he's an electrician. Licensed electricians put connections into junction boxes and fasten wiring to framing in an orderly fashion.

And if a flipper is more that a cosmetologist he'll also update the electrical panel and the plumbing where you can't see it knowing that a good thorough home inspector will come along and kill the deal when he looks a little closer and finds corroded angle stop valves and deteriorated galvanized plumbing under the house.

That's why it's good use an inspector that is also a general contractor. A GC will see the tell-tale signs almost immediately.

Homes in southern California are expensive. Why use a bargain priced inspector to inspect a house your spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on? You're buying a house for $400k to $900k or more and your using a $200 inspector? One item a good inspector discovers can save you $1000 or $5000 easy, even more on many issues.

I'm like you and I want to save money too. I shop extensively when I buy stuff but I don't shop for experts that are cheap because there is no such thing as a cheap expert. Look for an expert when you shop for home inspector.