Most programmers working in a business know which codebases are the good ones and which are the bad. It's very unusual for a programmer to be given a good codeb

Most programmers working in a business know which codebases are the good ones and which are the bad. It's very unusual for a programmer to be given a good codebase as they are the most sought after, and therefore much politicking goes into getting those. Your number 1 red flag just shows the developer isn't competent or willing to take part in certain types of destructive office politics.