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Flipping Houses for Dummies
"This book is designed for realty investors who want to profit from buying below market, making cosmetic improvements to add value, and then quickly reselling. But real estate agents and home buyers should also study it because of the valuable insights offered by a longtime, very successful real estate broker. On my scale of one to 10, this superb book rates an off-the-chart 12."
— Robert Bruss You've probably seen TV shows like Flip This House and Flip That House , in which Real estate investors buy, renovate, and sell a house in a matter of weeks for tens of thousands of dollars in profit. They make flipping houses look so easy that you want to jump out of your recliner (during the next commercial, of course), run down the street, find a house for sale, flip it for a 50 percent profit, and run back home to continue watching the show. I, Ralph Roberts, have flipped hundreds of houses, and it's never as easy as it looks on TV. People don't generally line up at your front door begging you to buy their house for 30-50 percent below market value. Renovation expenses always exceed estimates. And you can't always sell a house for what you think it's worth. Flipping houses for a profit requires time, money, and what I like to call sticktoitism —dogged determination in the face of overwhelming uncertainty. Not just another house flipping book You can find plenty of books about flipping houses that claim "anyone can do it" and make flipping look easy and risk-free. Flipping Houses For Dummies takes a different approach—honesty. We don't claim that flipping houses is "easy" or "simple" or "risk-free," because, quite frankly, it isn't. Flipping Houses For Dummies reveals the risks and rewards of flipping properties; helps you determine whether you have the time, energy, cash, and other resources to be successful; and then conveys the expert knowledge that those who wish to pursue house flipping need in order to minimize risk and maximize potential profits in a very competitive market. Did you know? Most books on flipping houses gloss over the key factors that that make or break the novice house flipper. These are the very items we focus on in Flipping Houses For Dummies . For example, did you A flipping book for real people Flipping Houses For Dummies speaks to the mom and pop investor, steering you clear of the gray areas, which tend to carry high-risks and low-returns, into safer, more potentially profitable areas. We encourage you invest in your comfort zone and take on bigger, riskier projects with higher profit potential only when you're ready. In Flipping Houses For Dummies we stress that the first flip is the most important one, and we take the guesswork out of the first transaction, to lead you through a positive first experience on which to build a promising real estate investment portfolio. Flipping Houses For Dummies provides plenty of examples of successful and not-so-successful property flips, presenting the total investment (in time and money), the work involved, and the net profit. Before-and-after photos visually illustrate the positive transformations from run-down-shacks to showcase homes.
— Robert Bruss You've probably seen TV shows like Flip This House and Flip That House , in which Real estate investors buy, renovate, and sell a house in a matter of weeks for tens of thousands of dollars in profit. They make flipping houses look so easy that you want to jump out of your recliner (during the next commercial, of course), run down the street, find a house for sale, flip it for a 50 percent profit, and run back home to continue watching the show. I, Ralph Roberts, have flipped hundreds of houses, and it's never as easy as it looks on TV. People don't generally line up at your front door begging you to buy their house for 30-50 percent below market value. Renovation expenses always exceed estimates. And you can't always sell a house for what you think it's worth. Flipping houses for a profit requires time, money, and what I like to call sticktoitism —dogged determination in the face of overwhelming uncertainty. Not just another house flipping book You can find plenty of books about flipping houses that claim "anyone can do it" and make flipping look easy and risk-free. Flipping Houses For Dummies takes a different approach—honesty. We don't claim that flipping houses is "easy" or "simple" or "risk-free," because, quite frankly, it isn't. Flipping Houses For Dummies reveals the risks and rewards of flipping properties; helps you determine whether you have the time, energy, cash, and other resources to be successful; and then conveys the expert knowledge that those who wish to pursue house flipping need in order to minimize risk and maximize potential profits in a very competitive market. Did you know? Most books on flipping houses gloss over the key factors that that make or break the novice house flipper. These are the very items we focus on in Flipping Houses For Dummies . For example, did you A flipping book for real people Flipping Houses For Dummies speaks to the mom and pop investor, steering you clear of the gray areas, which tend to carry high-risks and low-returns, into safer, more potentially profitable areas. We encourage you invest in your comfort zone and take on bigger, riskier projects with higher profit potential only when you're ready. In Flipping Houses For Dummies we stress that the first flip is the most important one, and we take the guesswork out of the first transaction, to lead you through a positive first experience on which to build a promising real estate investment portfolio. Flipping Houses For Dummies provides plenty of examples of successful and not-so-successful property flips, presenting the total investment (in time and money), the work involved, and the net profit. Before-and-after photos visually illustrate the positive transformations from run-down-shacks to showcase homes.
364 pages, Paperback
First published November 20, 2006
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June 1, 2025
Downsizing for Dummies by Ralph R. Roberts (2022)
For Dummies Series
xiii+367-page Paperback SWITCHED TO
ii+371-page Kindle Ebook story pages 1-351
Genre: Moving, Organizing, Decluttering, Household Management, Retirement
Featuring: Table of Contents, Icons, Introduction - About This Book, Foolish Assumptions, Icons Used in This Book, Beyond the Book? Where to Go from Here, Getting Started with Downsizing, Downsizing in a Nutshell Downsizing, Who, What, When, Where, and Why?; Envisioning Your Future, Navigating a Major Lifestyle Transition, Getting All Your Ducks in a Row, Protecting and Leveraging Your Assets, Decluttering Basics, Moving Out and Moving On, Our Downsizing Experience, Deciding Whether Downsizing Is Right for You (or Your Parents), Recognizing Common Reasons People Downsize, Weighing the Pros and Cons of Downsizing, Websites, Analyzing Your Situation and Mindset, Considering Your Loved Ones, Making the Tough Call for an Aging Loved One, Settling a Major Dilemma: To Sell or Not to Sell Your Home, Envisioning Your Future: Lifestyle and Location, Choosing a Location: Factors to Consider, Researching Locations, Test-Driving a Location or Lifestyle, Developing a Positive Mindset, Consulting with Family Members (or Not), Tabulating Your Net Worth and Monthly Income, Distinguishing between Essentials and Extras, Drawing Up Preliminary Plans, Tapping Your Family for Help, Getting a Little Help from Your Friends, Hiring Professionals, Delegating and Coordinating with Team Members, Helping a Loved One Downsize, Protecting and Leveraging Your Assets, Getting a Handle on Your Finances, Calculating Your Net Worth, Gauging Your Cash Flow, Accounting for Medical Insurance and Health-care Costs, Planning to Live on a Fixed Income, Planning Your Estate, Getting up to Speed on Estate Planning Basics, Preparing Your Will(s), Keeping Your Valuable Assets Out of Probate, Creating a Power of Attorney, Ensuring You Have Some Control over Medical Decisions, Planning Your Business Succession, Buying Life Insurance (or Not), Documenting Your End-of-Life Plan, Gathering and Organizing Essential Documents, Completing an Estate Planning Checklist, Using Your Home to Generate Income, Leasing Your Home (or a Part of It), Selling Your Home, Borrowing Against Your Home to Cash Out Equity, Making the Most of a Reverse Mortgage, Decluttering: Sell It, Give It Away, or Trash It; Mastering Decluttering Basics, Stop Cluttering, Sorting Your Stuff into Six Categories, Digitizing Photos, Videos, and Documentation; Selling Stuff You No Longer Want or Need, Giving Away Some Stuff, Storing Stuff You Can’t Part With, Disposing of Your Remaining, Moving Out and Moving In, Choosing a Home, Finding Your Place in the World: Location, Location, Location; Deciding Whether to Buy or Rent, Deciding Whether to Build or Buy, Estimating the Living Space You’ll Need, Considering Mobility and Accessibility, Exploring Your Housing Options, Accounting for Additional Costs, Buying and Selling a Home ,Deciding Whether to Sell or Keep Your Current Home as a Rental, Deciding Whether to Buy First or Sell First, Choosing Whether to Pay Cash or Finance Your Purchase, Picking the Right Real Estate Agents for You, Timing the Market (or Not), Getting a Home Equity Line of Credit (Just in Case), Accounting for Taxes on the Sale of Your Home, Packing Your Belongings, Executing a Successful Move, Ten Good Reasons to Downsize, Ten Tips to Make Downsizing Less Stressful, Ten (or So) Ways to Reduce Your Living Expenses, Ten Ways to Supplement Your Income, Index, Connect with Dummies, List of Tables - Short-term Capital Gains Tax Rates (2022), Long-term Capital Gains Tax Rates (2022): List of Illustrations
Rating as a movie: PG
Books and Authors mentioned: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, Throw Momma from the Train by Stu Silver, Digital Nomads For Dummies by Kristin M. Wilson, Medicare For Dummies, 4th Edition, by Patricia Barry, Wills and Trusts Kit For Dummies by Aaron Larson, Business Succession Planning For Dummies, by Arnold Dahlke, Decluttering For Dummies, by Jane Stoller, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, Digital Nomads For Dummies by Kristin Wilson
Memorable Quotes: U.S. News and World Report’s top 10 retirement destinations at money.usnews.com/money/retirement/art.... We can save you some time — of the top 10, eight are in Florida. Notably not listed is America’s number-one retirement community: The Villages in central Florida. It also happens to be the world’s capital of Viagra sales.
You may be able to take the sting out of large auto or home repair bills by buying a vehicle warranty and home warranty, but those are additional expenses. For more predictable home heating and cooling bills, consider getting on a budget with your gas and electric companies.
Try to get past the idea of what you paid for something and think about what you will pay for it in terms of moving it, storing it, and thinking about it in the future. Cut your losses and sell it for whatever you can get for it, or just give it away.
Here’s a short list of the documents that are safe to shred: Credit card statements Bank statements Brokerage statements Maintenance and repair records for vehicles you no longer own Old documents that aren’t relevant anymore (probably most of the documents crowding your filing cabinet)
My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🤓☝️💡⚠️
My thoughts: 📖 Page 9 of 367/380 Chapter 1 Downsizing in a Nutshell - After reading the table of contents and introduction this book is the full ride and I'm not sure I have time for all of that. I did enjoy Foolish Assumptions, but I'm not sure what supplementing your income has to do with downsizing so this may be a DNF.
🔖Page 29 of 371 Chapter 2: Deciding Whether Downsizing Is Right for You (or Your Parents) - I had to get rid of as many hardcopy books as possible, I kept 2, and exchanged them for digital copies. This ebook feels less overwhelming than the paperback, probably because you don’t see its size when you read it. So far the information is typically, but there is a personal story included. I'm not sure if I need to read this, after reading other books on the topic, but I'm going to read it anyway. I like that you can skip sections that don't pertain to you, although I won't be.
🔖83 Chapter 5 Rallying the Troops - Okay, I was wrong this book does have a lot of helpful information, and all of the websites are still active.
🔖239 Chapter 14 Disposing of Your Remaining Belongings - I had to force myself to read the last chapter on storing stuff. I don't even want to read about giving collections away but I need the information. This book is pretty thorough I'm not sure I save the information about donating and storage there are a lot of organizations I didn't realize I could utilize. I stopped here because I didn't want to overload myself. I continue this weekend.
Okay in the end this book was way more helpful than I expected. I think I'll reread it in the next few years, or read one of the recommendations.
Recommend to others: Yes. This isn't a personalized as other books on the topic but it's detailed enough to go beyond getting it done, you'll tap into a few other areas as well.
For Dummies Series
xiii+367-page Paperback SWITCHED TO
ii+371-page Kindle Ebook story pages 1-351
Genre: Moving, Organizing, Decluttering, Household Management, Retirement
Featuring: Table of Contents, Icons, Introduction - About This Book, Foolish Assumptions, Icons Used in This Book, Beyond the Book? Where to Go from Here, Getting Started with Downsizing, Downsizing in a Nutshell Downsizing, Who, What, When, Where, and Why?; Envisioning Your Future, Navigating a Major Lifestyle Transition, Getting All Your Ducks in a Row, Protecting and Leveraging Your Assets, Decluttering Basics, Moving Out and Moving On, Our Downsizing Experience, Deciding Whether Downsizing Is Right for You (or Your Parents), Recognizing Common Reasons People Downsize, Weighing the Pros and Cons of Downsizing, Websites, Analyzing Your Situation and Mindset, Considering Your Loved Ones, Making the Tough Call for an Aging Loved One, Settling a Major Dilemma: To Sell or Not to Sell Your Home, Envisioning Your Future: Lifestyle and Location, Choosing a Location: Factors to Consider, Researching Locations, Test-Driving a Location or Lifestyle, Developing a Positive Mindset, Consulting with Family Members (or Not), Tabulating Your Net Worth and Monthly Income, Distinguishing between Essentials and Extras, Drawing Up Preliminary Plans, Tapping Your Family for Help, Getting a Little Help from Your Friends, Hiring Professionals, Delegating and Coordinating with Team Members, Helping a Loved One Downsize, Protecting and Leveraging Your Assets, Getting a Handle on Your Finances, Calculating Your Net Worth, Gauging Your Cash Flow, Accounting for Medical Insurance and Health-care Costs, Planning to Live on a Fixed Income, Planning Your Estate, Getting up to Speed on Estate Planning Basics, Preparing Your Will(s), Keeping Your Valuable Assets Out of Probate, Creating a Power of Attorney, Ensuring You Have Some Control over Medical Decisions, Planning Your Business Succession, Buying Life Insurance (or Not), Documenting Your End-of-Life Plan, Gathering and Organizing Essential Documents, Completing an Estate Planning Checklist, Using Your Home to Generate Income, Leasing Your Home (or a Part of It), Selling Your Home, Borrowing Against Your Home to Cash Out Equity, Making the Most of a Reverse Mortgage, Decluttering: Sell It, Give It Away, or Trash It; Mastering Decluttering Basics, Stop Cluttering, Sorting Your Stuff into Six Categories, Digitizing Photos, Videos, and Documentation; Selling Stuff You No Longer Want or Need, Giving Away Some Stuff, Storing Stuff You Can’t Part With, Disposing of Your Remaining, Moving Out and Moving In, Choosing a Home, Finding Your Place in the World: Location, Location, Location; Deciding Whether to Buy or Rent, Deciding Whether to Build or Buy, Estimating the Living Space You’ll Need, Considering Mobility and Accessibility, Exploring Your Housing Options, Accounting for Additional Costs, Buying and Selling a Home ,Deciding Whether to Sell or Keep Your Current Home as a Rental, Deciding Whether to Buy First or Sell First, Choosing Whether to Pay Cash or Finance Your Purchase, Picking the Right Real Estate Agents for You, Timing the Market (or Not), Getting a Home Equity Line of Credit (Just in Case), Accounting for Taxes on the Sale of Your Home, Packing Your Belongings, Executing a Successful Move, Ten Good Reasons to Downsize, Ten Tips to Make Downsizing Less Stressful, Ten (or So) Ways to Reduce Your Living Expenses, Ten Ways to Supplement Your Income, Index, Connect with Dummies, List of Tables - Short-term Capital Gains Tax Rates (2022), Long-term Capital Gains Tax Rates (2022): List of Illustrations
Rating as a movie: PG
Books and Authors mentioned: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, Throw Momma from the Train by Stu Silver, Digital Nomads For Dummies by Kristin M. Wilson, Medicare For Dummies, 4th Edition, by Patricia Barry, Wills and Trusts Kit For Dummies by Aaron Larson, Business Succession Planning For Dummies, by Arnold Dahlke, Decluttering For Dummies, by Jane Stoller, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, Digital Nomads For Dummies by Kristin Wilson
Memorable Quotes: U.S. News and World Report’s top 10 retirement destinations at money.usnews.com/money/retirement/art.... We can save you some time — of the top 10, eight are in Florida. Notably not listed is America’s number-one retirement community: The Villages in central Florida. It also happens to be the world’s capital of Viagra sales.
You may be able to take the sting out of large auto or home repair bills by buying a vehicle warranty and home warranty, but those are additional expenses. For more predictable home heating and cooling bills, consider getting on a budget with your gas and electric companies.
Try to get past the idea of what you paid for something and think about what you will pay for it in terms of moving it, storing it, and thinking about it in the future. Cut your losses and sell it for whatever you can get for it, or just give it away.
Here’s a short list of the documents that are safe to shred: Credit card statements Bank statements Brokerage statements Maintenance and repair records for vehicles you no longer own Old documents that aren’t relevant anymore (probably most of the documents crowding your filing cabinet)
My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🤓☝️💡⚠️
My thoughts: 📖 Page 9 of 367/380 Chapter 1 Downsizing in a Nutshell - After reading the table of contents and introduction this book is the full ride and I'm not sure I have time for all of that. I did enjoy Foolish Assumptions, but I'm not sure what supplementing your income has to do with downsizing so this may be a DNF.
🔖Page 29 of 371 Chapter 2: Deciding Whether Downsizing Is Right for You (or Your Parents) - I had to get rid of as many hardcopy books as possible, I kept 2, and exchanged them for digital copies. This ebook feels less overwhelming than the paperback, probably because you don’t see its size when you read it. So far the information is typically, but there is a personal story included. I'm not sure if I need to read this, after reading other books on the topic, but I'm going to read it anyway. I like that you can skip sections that don't pertain to you, although I won't be.
🔖83 Chapter 5 Rallying the Troops - Okay, I was wrong this book does have a lot of helpful information, and all of the websites are still active.
🔖239 Chapter 14 Disposing of Your Remaining Belongings - I had to force myself to read the last chapter on storing stuff. I don't even want to read about giving collections away but I need the information. This book is pretty thorough I'm not sure I save the information about donating and storage there are a lot of organizations I didn't realize I could utilize. I stopped here because I didn't want to overload myself. I continue this weekend.
Okay in the end this book was way more helpful than I expected. I think I'll reread it in the next few years, or read one of the recommendations.
Recommend to others: Yes. This isn't a personalized as other books on the topic but it's detailed enough to go beyond getting it done, you'll tap into a few other areas as well.
May 9, 2019
Very useful information as to the intricacies of finding, fixing, and selling a variety of homes! Great for a beginnner like myself.
December 24, 2018
Excellent!
It is helpful and clear enough to grasp good ideas and info for implement it on the field thanks to author’s backround
It is helpful and clear enough to grasp good ideas and info for implement it on the field thanks to author’s backround
March 11, 2022
This book provided so much detail, I felt like I could just hop right in. Extremely thorough, and everything focused on doing the job honorable and above board. Highly recommend for anyone trying to get into flipping/renovating/rehabbing homes.
March 18, 2021
This book had the most thorough explanations of acquiring properties from foreclosure that I've seen.
January 16, 2024
A Solid Starting Point for Beginners, but Lacks Depth for Seasoned Flippers
March 15, 2024
Incredibly helpful!
July 7, 2025
Its an okay read. Really meant for people retiring and those who have actual homes or assets to think about. But i was looking for downsizing in general. And this was more for the elderly.
December 26, 2020
I was on the hunt for the best book about flipping houses and I found this one to be really helpful. A lot of the questions about what to prioritize or whether to invest in X as opposed to Z were answered in part by this book. I think this is a great overview and is super digestible doesn’t take too long to read for people who are interested in getting into real estate investment with slow flipping or live in flipping.
August 23, 2022
8/23/22
I read the 2022 version this time and there were some good updates as far as how flipping houses has changed since Covid hit and affected real estate. Other than that, it is similar information. I was disappointed that they didn’t bother to update the photos to today’s standards. Who puts laminate countertops in the kitchen anymore? The styles were not reflecting today’s modern look.
original Review: I love this book. It was very educational and exactly what I wanted to know. My husband and I have been interested in Real Estate for many years and bought our first Fixer Upper a few years ago, which we lived in during the renovations with kids and all. I do not recommend doing that if you can help it. Total chaos. Dirty disaster. We still live there so we have yet to sell it to realize our profit. There is so much helpful information in this book, little tips and tricks and so many different directions you can go with house flipping opportunities. Depending on how big of a project you want to take on and how big of a profit you want to take home.
There is too much to mention so here are some of the things: doing title research, shopping for reliable contractors, hiring the right realtor, homeowner’s insurance, different methods for funding flips, websites to refer to, searching for the right house (or worst house), paying a realistic price to ensure a profitable outcome, levels such as bare minimum renovations and maximum renovations, how much money to have for holding costs—the breakdown of repairs and such, even how much you may get taxed. I loved the breakdown of every step to take towards making flipping a house for a profit a reality. There was, of course, dry information with a lot of numbers but if you are passionate about house flipping, it is valuable. I think the photos need to be updated and in color, but besides that, very useful. I liked that there was also humor throughout the book.
Most bang for your buck on renovations—replacing the front door
Spotting the signs of a good neighborhood—"If you're driving down a street at dusk and neighbors are sitting on their front porches with guns across their laps, that's not a neighborhood you should consider flipping in."
I read the 2022 version this time and there were some good updates as far as how flipping houses has changed since Covid hit and affected real estate. Other than that, it is similar information. I was disappointed that they didn’t bother to update the photos to today’s standards. Who puts laminate countertops in the kitchen anymore? The styles were not reflecting today’s modern look.
original Review: I love this book. It was very educational and exactly what I wanted to know. My husband and I have been interested in Real Estate for many years and bought our first Fixer Upper a few years ago, which we lived in during the renovations with kids and all. I do not recommend doing that if you can help it. Total chaos. Dirty disaster. We still live there so we have yet to sell it to realize our profit. There is so much helpful information in this book, little tips and tricks and so many different directions you can go with house flipping opportunities. Depending on how big of a project you want to take on and how big of a profit you want to take home.
There is too much to mention so here are some of the things: doing title research, shopping for reliable contractors, hiring the right realtor, homeowner’s insurance, different methods for funding flips, websites to refer to, searching for the right house (or worst house), paying a realistic price to ensure a profitable outcome, levels such as bare minimum renovations and maximum renovations, how much money to have for holding costs—the breakdown of repairs and such, even how much you may get taxed. I loved the breakdown of every step to take towards making flipping a house for a profit a reality. There was, of course, dry information with a lot of numbers but if you are passionate about house flipping, it is valuable. I think the photos need to be updated and in color, but besides that, very useful. I liked that there was also humor throughout the book.
Most bang for your buck on renovations—replacing the front door
Spotting the signs of a good neighborhood—"If you're driving down a street at dusk and neighbors are sitting on their front porches with guns across their laps, that's not a neighborhood you should consider flipping in."
September 15, 2008
Not bad. Has the beginning strategies provided you have access to a potential market.
I have no background in real estate, and by no means is this a comprehensive book in that regard. If you were at least fascinated by the topic, this is a good introductory book.
I have no background in real estate, and by no means is this a comprehensive book in that regard. If you were at least fascinated by the topic, this is a good introductory book.
March 31, 2008
Good for a beginner, I didn't get much out of it though.
June 4, 2014
Great basic introduction to flipping houses. Provides a little information about everything you will need to know.
October 31, 2017
BORING!!!!!
February 17, 2015
BORING!!!!!
January 15, 2022
A bit redundant at times, all the info is there but definitely could have been a shorter book. taught me a lot about real estate and such a good base book!
December 2, 2017
Good. Enough to get me to give it try.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews