A Couple Of Flipping Book Recommendations
You've probably seen the flipping TV shows (who hasn't?), but might prefer to have more information before you decide whether or not house flipping is for you. Good idea, and I have just the thing you need. Pick yourself up a good house flipping book.
There are now a number of tomes available, but two that I have taken a look at and think are quite good are Flipping Houses For Dummies from the famous 'for dummies' book series, and Flipping Confidential by Kirsten Kemp, host of the TLC TV program Property Ladder. I'd recommend that the aspiring flipper pick them both up.
Some of the chapters in Flipping Confidential include My Story (which is quite interesting if you've ever watched the TV show and wondered just how Kirsten came to be considered a house flipping expert), Getting Started, Assembling Your Team, Building a Budget, Improving the Property, Staging Your Flip, and Frequently Asked Questions.
The Dummies book includes chapters called Guesstimating Your Potential Profit, Hunting for Houses in Your Target Area, Perking Up the Curb Appeal, Marketing Your Home, Securing the Funds to Fuel Your Flip, and Ten Strategies for Surviving a Slow Market, to name a few. Both books have plenty of plenty of photos of before and after renovations, and a lot of information about possible complications and requirements that you may have never even thought of. The Dummies book is a little more comprehensive, but Flipping Confidential takes more of a personal approach, giving you more insight into Kemp's philosophy and a look at a few of the real estate redos she was involved in that went wrong, which she calls 'flip-flops'. Really, you couldn't go wrong with either flipping book, and I'd advise that you get both, because while there is overlap, each has some advantages over the other. The only negative thing I have to say about either book is that I found the longhand typeface used on the headings of the separate sections of each chapter in Flipping Cofidential a little too stylized, and even difficult to read once in a while. Not exactly what you'd call a major criticism. If you had to stick with only one, I'd recommend getting the Dummies book, as it is a little more all-encompassing. But really, if you can only afford one of these books, then maybe you should reconsider whether or not you're financially prepared to undertake a flip. While you can probably find these two flipping books at your local library, and you may want to do just that for the initial reading to see if you agree with my assesment, I think you'll eventually want to purchase them to have on hand to refer to repeatedly.
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