the scarlet letter of a flip

[Account Closed]

I posed as a buyer at an open house in my flip and came across an interesting problem I did not anticipate.   I thought having a house that showed brand new was good and preferable to the tired average paneling and blue carpet listings.  But the buyers are very wary of houses they think are flipped.  

So I have this catch 22.  Make the house too nice, too fresh, and people get cautious and wary.  They don't see any thing wrong, but worry that this is like some Armondo cat house flip with shoddy work.  Again, maybe this is a regional thing.  But if you are not a big enough player to have a reputation for quality, is there a risk in making a house feel too new such that buyers get scared.  

I have noticed that a high volume frequent flipper in my area does not do little things like change outlet covers, or replace appliances, or will leave some older fixtures in place.  At first I thought this was sloppy lazy work.  I'm now wondering if he is wiser by making his houses seem more normal.  

The first reaction people have when the walk in the door is not, "wow", or "fresh and new", or "great deal", but rather, universally, "this is a flip".  The TV shows have affected how people think.  I've mentioned similar things before.  I think this may be a regional issue since other people don't mention it.   Again, this is not about shoddy work.  Nobody sees any problems.  I just overhear them worrying about them.  It is as if going over board backfires.