FLIPPING AS TECHNICAL REHABILITATION OF A PROPERTY RATHER THAN COSMETIC RENOVATION

House flipping is commonly portrayed as a fast visual makeover, yet the buyer of a flipped house acquires the condition of its structures and building systems, not only its finishes. This study aims to substantiate the treatment of flipping as technical rehabilitation of a property rather than cosmetic renovation and to propose a practical framework for prioritising renovation works. The methodology is a structured narrative review of peer-reviewed research on residential flipping, housing depreciation and maintenance, building condition assessment, building codes and indoor dampness, interpreted from the practitioner perspective of a renovation company operating in Central Florida. The review shows that empirical flipping research rarely observes the actual scope of renovation, that the level of maintenance measurably affects house price depreciation, that standardised condition assessment improves the reliability of building data, and that markets exposed to wind and moisture risk capitalise construction quality into prices. On this basis, a four-tier priority model is proposed: structure and safety, building envelope and moisture control, engineering systems, and only then functional modernisation and finishes, supported by staged decision points and a technical disclosure package for the buyer. The study concludes that technical rehabilitation reduces hidden-defect and post-sale risks and aligns the resale price of a flipped house with its actual technical condition.