Buying a flip before it hits MLS - Need advice

[Tim Nuss]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are currently looking into buying our first home. We have a line on a house that’s being flipped in our desired location (El Dorado county, CA). The home is several weeks away from being done, but have met with current owner (who bought it to flip it) and really like it. We love the layout and future design vision of the house. 

Does anyone have advice on potential pros/cons of making an offer before it hits market?

Of course we could save the buyer time and money on listing, staging, etc., but wondering how to protect ourselves too to make sure the work that is being discussed is done. What kind of contingencies could we ask for to protect ourselves?

Any tips, advice, thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

Tim