Williamson - The Everything Guide To Flipping Houses: An All-Inclusive Guide to Buying, Renovating, Selling

Dear Reader,

If youve seen shows like Flip This House, Flip Men, or Flipping Out, you may have a growing interest in house flipping. House flipping has become increasingly popular over recent years thanks to a number of factors, including the success of these shows. But these shows only offer a snippet view of the house flipping process. The real flipping process often takes months, from the time you decide to flip the house, until you sign the selling papers and collect your profit.

This book will walk you through the entire house flipping process to help you better understand what is involved. You will learn more about the potential benefits house flipping provides, as well as the potential risks involved.

House flipping is a reasonable way to earn extra income or to replace your current income. It provides you with better control over your financial future, and it does not require formal educational training. While there is a learning curve to making the most profit off each flip, what you need to know can be learned through research, talking to mentors, and on-the-job training.

Melanie Williamson

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PUBLISHER Karen Cooper

MANAGING EDITOR, EVERYTHING SERIES Lisa Laing

COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert

ASSISTANT PRODUCTION EDITOR Alex Guarco

ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Hillary Thompson

ASSOCIATE DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Eileen Mullan

EVERYTHING SERIES COVER DESIGNER Erin Alexander

Visit the entire Everything series at www.everything.com

Avon, Massachusetts

This book is dedicated to the memory of Russ Harkins. He was a masterful house flipper and an amazing dad.

1. Financial freedom
2. Being your own boss
3. Being able to work with your hands
4. Having creative freedom over a large project
5. Being able to give back to a local community
6. Taking something rundown and abandoned, and making it beautiful and useful again
7. Learning new things every day
8. Having the opportunity to network with local investors and prominent community members
9. Starting a new venture with daily risks and excitement
10. Being able to try something new and take a chance on yourself

House flipping has had its ups and downs in the media. While it went through a period of wild success when all the market factors were working in favor of the investors, things have since slowed down a bit. After the market crash in 2008, there was a glut of houses on the market and house flippers found themselves unable to sell the properties they had already invested in. However, the negative effects of the housing crash have subsided, and the property investment market is picking up again. Even the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has made changes to their rules to encourage property investors to flip more houses. These changes include lifting some of the restrictions in place for getting an FHA loan to flip a house.

Flipping houses provides the perfect opportunity to work hard and make an investment in yourself. You can do it as a side business or drop everything and try it full-time. While there are risks, there is a great potential for profit in house flipping. This book provides an overview of house flipping and everything you need to know to get started. The process of flipping a house is not a get rich quick scheme or a get rich with no work operation. House flippers work hard to accomplish their goals. They have a strong team of people they work with to accomplish those goals, and they are driven.

There is a learning curve when you first start. Dont be surprised if you make some significant mistakes on your first flip, but if you are focused and willing to learn from your mistakes, you can create a profitable business. You can be your own boss and control your own income. You can create financial freedom. This isnt to say there arent risks and disadvantages to house flipping; there are. You are going to work long hours. You are going to find yourself paying a lot more taxes, and it will be stressful at times. However, it can also be amazingly rewarding.

Learning the basics, gaining an understanding of the real estate business, and finding a mentor are the best ways for you to get started. When you find a mentor, or someone who has found success in flipping houses in the past, ask them if you can assist them on a flip so you can see how they handle the day-to-day business. Another way to ease yourself into house flipping is by starting with a temporary partner. Instead of creating a full business relationship, you can partner with someone on one house, and see how it goes.

The information in this book will act as a springboard for your first flip. You can take the information you learn here and go forward. Focus on the areas you arent already familiar with because they are the areas you will need to learn the most. Acknowledge the areas where you are already comfortable. For example, a lot of house flippers come from one of two backgrounds; they are either handymen or contractors, who know they can handle the renovations, so they are interested in the business side of it, or they are property investors or landlords, who dont know everything about the renovations, but they understand the market. Either way, starting with a base of knowledge is a great way to move forward quickly.

House flipping presents a great opportunity for property investing. It is very possible to make a full-time living flipping houses. However, it is a flexible enough opportunity that you can flip a house while also working a full-time job. While there is a learning curve for beginners, nearly anyone can successfully flip a house. The most important thing is to build a solid team to work with and be willing to work hard. House flipping is not an easy job, but it can be very fulfilling and profitable.