# Can you turn a paperclip into a house?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-turn-a-paperclip-into-a-house/353140
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 18, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-turn-a-paperclip-into-a-house/353140 "2006-04-18T05:56:44Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-turn-a-paperclip-into-a-house/353140/21 "2006-04-19T05:56:25Z")
Sorry. My post was quite a bit out of line for this thread. I’m a bit hypersensitive to issues of house flipping because the market I live in is flooded with criminal activity related to this practice. Plus, I know a buyer that got really shafted when trying to do this, and I know a seller who was very unscrupulous in regards to disclosing hidden damage in the house that they were selling. Both cases involved buying a house that needed work at a great price. They also both involved the intentional cover up of major structural damage that home inspectors couldn’t see until the owner started to replace and repair parts of the house. Caveat Emptor does not excuse sellers from cheating people in order to make a buck through intentional deception. These cases have affected my view on housing sales in general. It seems that more and more people these days are perfectly willing to screw some poor guy as long as they get their money.
None of this really has anything to do with this thread, I just felt I needed to explain my comment.
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### Author:  [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2006, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-turn-a-paperclip-into-a-house/353140/22 "2006-04-19T07:31:39Z")
Oh, there’s no excuse for lying, you’re right. I’ve heard enough stories from people, including my Bro and SIL, that when I buy a house, I’m getting a _thorough_ inspection, and I’m working out some deal that keeps pressure on the seller to fix things. You can’t give them all the money and then expect them to come back to fix the final things. You need something to hang over their heads.
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### Author:  [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2006, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-turn-a-paperclip-into-a-house/353140/23 "2006-04-19T14:23:46Z")
> [@dnooman](#):
>
> Sorry. My post was quite a bit out of line for this thread. I’m a bit hypersensitive to issues of house flipping because the market I live in is flooded with criminal activity related to this practice. Plus, I know a buyer that got really shafted when trying to do this, and I know a seller who was very unscrupulous in regards to disclosing hidden damage in the house that they were selling. Both cases involved buying a house that needed work at a great price. They also both involved the intentional cover up of major structural damage that home inspectors couldn’t see until the owner started to replace and repair parts of the house.
This happens in every market.
I live in the Small Town America in the Midwest. It happened to me-- the house I bought had flaws the homeowners had hidden and they lied on their disclosure forms.
It sucks, but it happens everywhere.
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### Author:  [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2006, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-turn-a-paperclip-into-a-house/353140/24 "2006-04-19T14:29:54Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#):
>
> I love this whole thing. I’d like to try it and actually know people who will probably attempt it.
I think this is one of those things that could only work once. Much of why it might work is related to the media coverage of it, which won’t happen for the second guy who tries it.
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### Author:  [@zoogirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoogirl)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2006, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-turn-a-paperclip-into-a-house/353140/25 "2006-04-29T14:32:38Z")
Argh!!! The current trade is an afternoon with Alice Cooper!!
Anyone got something I can beg borrow or steal to trade?!
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### Author:  [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-turn-a-paperclip-into-a-house/353140/26 "2006-04-29T14:40:21Z")
am I the only one who read the OP title, and thought of folding a paperclip into a teeny tiny little framework in the shape of a house? 🙂
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### Author:  [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-turn-a-paperclip-into-a-house/353140/27 "2006-05-01T11:36:48Z")
> [@chrisk](#):
>
> am I the only one who read the OP title, and thought of folding a paperclip into a teeny tiny little framework in the shape of a house? 🙂
No. I was mentally thinking, “2D or 3D?” as I clicked on the title.
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-turn-a-paperclip-into-a-house/353140/28 "2006-05-01T12:22:14Z")
> [@zoogirl](#):
>
> Argh!!! The current trade is an afternoon with Alice Cooper!!
>
> Anyone got something I can beg borrow or steal to trade?!
Wow!
I’ve got a paperclip…
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### Author:  [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-turn-a-paperclip-into-a-house/353140/29 "2006-05-01T15:05:18Z")
I’ve got… um… a scented candle?
It smells like vanilla and aloes, it’s very pretty. _forlorn_
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### Author:  [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)
#### Post date: [May 1, 2006, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-turn-a-paperclip-into-a-house/353140/30 "2006-05-01T15:20:00Z")
But who’d be silly enough to trade away a genuine **Kytheria** candle? Ruins the whole trade-up concept there.
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