Comments on: Book Review and Giveaway: The House Flipping Answer Book

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:26:07 +0000

Send it my way.

By: Lara

Lara — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:56:59 +0000

I’ve been seriously tempted to try flipping, and would love to know more! Count me in…

By: Al

Al — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:11:05 +0000

James and Jen,

I’m in Ottawa too, and I did see a flip down the street from me. Asking price before the flip was $260K and asking after was $350K. I’m not sure what the actual sale price was in either case. It sold after about 3 1/2 weeks and there was an open house every weekend.

I don’t want the book.

By: LBanks

LBanks — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:58:22 +0000

I have never seen the TV show, as we dont have cable… looking forward to reading it

By: property bulgaria

property bulgaria — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:26:10 +0000

My experience, after extensive renovations to 3 houses, has been that you better be buying the house for a very good discounted price to market, you need to keep your renovation costs in check and you want to be in a rising market. Location, Location, Location doesn’t hurt either. In each case we’ve made a slight profit but we never knew what that profit was going to be until the house sold, as we hadn’t built a clear estimate into our initial budget. In each case our final renovation costs were double what we’ve budgeted and we were lucky that there had been a big upswing in the market from the time of purchase to the sale date. One sold in a day, one in 3 months and the other we rented for almost a year until market values had reach a point where it was profitable to sell. It can be done but it’s not for the faint of heart. Will we try again..probably not.

By: Cannon_fodder

Cannon_fodder — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:05:27 +0000

I ran into one gentleman just over 5 years ago and he had a different business model. He would be one of those people that would line up to buy a home in a new development. When it came time to put the fit and finishes together, he would strip out as much as he could with the interior fittings.

Then, when the house was ‘ready’ he would move in and live there while putting in cabinets, countertops, backsplash, hardwood flooring, moulding, etc., etc. He would sell that house (with no capital gain tax since it was his residence) and make a nice tidy sum.

Not really a viable option for anyone who isn’t single, but perhaps a less risky model with less upside, too.

By: Debt_Free_in_5

Debt_Free_in_5 — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:03:10 +0000

Remember the mantra of real estate agents everywhere.
Location, Location, Location.

I got stuck carrying a house for 5 years, and took a 70% loss when I finally sold it (gave it away).

It was an expensive lesson.

By: Jen_nifer

Jen_nifer — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:32:17 +0000

I agree with James, that it’s nearly impossible to find a home discounted enough in Ottawa to make it happen. But still curious about the whole idea. I’d be really happy to receive this book.

By: cbez

cbez — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:21:33 +0000

It is my hope to “invest” in shack-flipping soon!

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 08 May 2008 07:41:49 +0000

Currenty looking homes. This book would be beneficial to me!

By: Steven

Steven — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:11:40 +0000

Thanks – count me in.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:39:07 +0000

This book looks great. I’ve purchased a few “instructional” books on flipping houses, and most lack figures and budgets. Its refreshing to know that there’s one out there that isnt afraid to publish costs, especially in this ever changing economic state the country is in.

Ive always wanted to flip a house, but its getting harder to divert the money. Thankfully, most houses are only getting cheaper.

GIMME [please]!

By: newinvestor

newinvestor — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:50:30 +0000

Count me in. Always was interested in this type of investment/work
cheers

By: AndrewP

AndrewP — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:04:33 +0000

The price is right!

By: Cash Instinct

Cash Instinct — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:56:17 +0000

In current market, one needs to use caution when flipping houses!

By: Alison

Alison — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:52:56 +0000

Great idea. I’ve had some experience flipping houses and the last project that we flipped (after putting 8 months and almost $100 K of renovations into it) and waiting for the market to catch up, made us a profit of almost $60 K. Sadly, a house that we did nothing to, had no carrrying charges, and also sold at the same time made us a profit of $40 K. So, the reality is the fact that due to the hot housing market in our location in the last two years, if we had bought the ‘flipper’ sat on it, and then sold it, we would have made just as much money with no effort….. stick to the coat of paint!

By: Zahid Jafry

Zahid Jafry — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:53:35 +0000

A useful book for interested parties. Comprehensive book review…appreciate the candidness when speaking of US tax laws.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:35:37 +0000

Seems like a very interesting book.
I’d like to read it.

By: FearLES

FearLES — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:23:08 +0000

Les in for the draw.

By: guinness416

guinness416 — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:12:29 +0000

Good review. Like landlording this seems to be one of those things that a LOT of people think they can do without screwing up, despite all the horror stories. I can’t fathom why – I spend my days putting out fires on construction jobs and the idea of doing that for fun and profit in my spare time doesn’t appeal. There was a flip house a couple of blocks from my place here in Toronto on sale for (not exaggerating here) almost 18 months. Hard to imagine that’s even possible given the rate other places around us have been selling in the last couple of years. I’d love to know what they eventually got for it.