If you’re interested in real estate investing, one of the most exciting ways to get started is by flipping houses. We’ve all seen the HGTV shows that make it look like the perfect blend of chaos and profit, and the best books on flipping houses will help you avoid the pitfalls and maximize your profits.
The books on this list are highly rated and teach lessons for beginners through experienced flippers. Several titles focus on real estate investing on a larger scale. These books are for wealth-minded people who want practical advice that teaches them how to flip houses for a profit.
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1. The Book on Flipping Houses: How to Buy, Rehab, and Resell Residential Properties
Written by J. Scott
The first in a two-part series by J. Scott, a real estate investor and fix-flipper. The Book on Flipping Houses is one of the best books on flipping houses because it explains everything you need to know to get started. J. Scott is also the co-host of the popular The BiggerPockets Business podcast.
Scott’s book teaches you how to figure out which kind of properties to invest in, determine profitability, identify the best locations, and more. It’s a motivating book and one you’ll revisit in the future.
Experienced flippers might find the material a little too geared towards beginners, but Scott’s 2019 revision (it was originally published in 2013) added advanced material on economic cycles, more refinancing options, and how to focus on larger renovation projects.
Listen to The Book on Flipping Houses for free with an Audible trial
2. The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs: The Investor’s Guide to Defining Your Renovation Plan, Building Your Budget, and Knowing Exactly How Much It All Costs
Written by J. Scott
You can tell from the title that this book packs in a serious amount of information about rehabbing houses, and that’s honestly what you need to get started.
The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs is the second in J.Scott’s flipping series. Scott details the framework and methodology he uses to evaluate rehab costs as precisely as possible. This book has a lot of in-depth information, but you don’t need to be a contractor or real estate investor to understand what Scott is talking about.
This book is written to help new and experienced flippers hone their cost evaluations so they can make the best decisions when purchasing homes to flip and identifying the score and cost of renovation projects.
3. Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Live to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
Wriiten by George Nash
Even though it’s a few years old – originally written in 1995 and updated in 2003 – it’s a solid choice. Flipping older homes can be a tricky business because there’s a fine line between preserving the historicity of a home while making it appeal to new buyers. Renovating Old Houses explains how to evaluate properties, making repairs, determining what to save, and more.
Author George Nash is an experienced contractor who takes a common-sense approach to his love of old homes. The advice you’ll read expects that you know a little bit about houses, but don’t let that put you off. George has a true love for quality, vintage craftsmanship, and can teach you how to impart that in your flip.
4. Dream Home: The Property Brothers’ Ultimate Guide to Finding & Fixing Your Perfect House
Written by Jonathon Scott and Drew Scott
You probably know these guys, and they might even be part of the reason that you’re interested in flipping houses. But if you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, the Scott brothers are the stars of HGTV’s Property Brothers.
Their book, Dream Home, is a comprehensive guide for anyone — not just for fans — who want to learn what it takes to buy and renovate a house. While Dream Home focuses on fixing up a house to live in for yourself, there are a lot of lessons for anyone flipping houses, like determining must-haves, negotiating with contractors, setting a rehab calendar, and much more.
5. The Business of Flipping Homes: Short-Term Real Estate Investing for Long-Term Wealth
Written by William Bronchich and Rober Dahlstrom
Authors William Bronchich and Rober Dahlstrom have more than 40 years of combined experience flipping homes. The Business of Flipping Homes is one of the best books on flipping houses because it teaches tried-and-true strategies for both those looking at flipping as a side hustle and those who want to start flipping as a full-time venture.
You will learn how to look beyond the initial investment and to the long-term process of flipping. This includes finding houses to flip, structuring your business, finding partners to work with, utilizing your talents, and more.
The authors lay out a systematic approach that helps you analyze the numbers and approach your flips in a way that makes sense for your long-term planning.
6. FLIP: How to Find, Fix, and Sell Houses for Profit
Written by Rick Villani and Clay Davis
FLIP is a New York Times bestselling book on flipping houses that’s a great read for beginners. It covers all of the essential topics, including finding the right property, completing the rehab, and selling the property.
Villani and Davis don’t sugarcoat the process of flipping houses, meaning they don’t make it sounds like just anyone can get rich overnight. Instead, they offer a no-fluff guide that is full of practical and real-world advice.
The material is concise and easy to understand. The approach laid out in FLIP ensures that you don’t miss any steps, especially in the project management and business side of flipping homes. This is definitely one of the best books on flipping houses if you’re looking for a no-nonsense approach.
7. The Flipping Blueprint: The Complete Plan for Flipping Houses and Creating Your Real Estate-Investing Business
Written by Luke Weber
First-time flippers will get a lot of valuable information out of The Flipping Blueprint as Luke Weber has flipped hundreds of homes and shares his outline for getting into real estate investing.
This is one of the best books on flipping houses is because Weber explains how to present yourself to others in the industry, like contractors and lenders. This can be really hard for newbies to learn.
The Flipping Blueprint is full of lessons that teach you how to be a smart flipper. These are the kinds of things you’ll learn in real estate seminars and workshops that cost hundreds of dollars, but Weber drops those nuggets in a book that costs less than $20.
8. Flip Your Future: How to Quit Your Job, Live Your Dreams, And Make Six Figures Your First Year Flipping Real Estate
Written by Ryan Pineda
If you can get past the title – I typically avoid anything that makes big promises – Flip Your Future teaches you about the potential in rehabbing houses and selling them for a profit.
Pineda has an inspirational story: he took a $10,000 investment and turned it into over $1,000,000 in just three years. He even made the risky decision to max out his credit cards to make his first deal happen. His approach isn’t for everyone, but you’ll be motivated to get into this growing industry.
9. Real Estate Investing QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner’s Guide to Successfully Securing Financing, Closing Your First Deal, and Building Wealth Through Real Estate
Written by Symon He
Symon He’s Real Estate Investing QuickStart Guide is one of a series of introductory guides to financial topics like investing, day trading, options trading, post-pandemic real estate investing, and more. This one of the best books on flipping houses for beginners because it teaches how you can build wealth through real estate investing.
Besides flipping houses, this book also teaches lessons on commercial real estate investing, passive income through rental properties, the inner workings of different real estate marketings, how to use leverage, and much more.
10. The Book on Rental Property Investing: How to Create Wealth With Intelligent Buy and Hold Real Estate Investing
Written by Brandon Turner
Brandon Turner is a real estate investor and co-host of the Bigger Pockets podcast. The Book on Rental Property is a must-read for anyone who wants to build wealth through real estate investing.
Turner’s guide explains who to create and generate steady cash flow with rental properties. You will learn four different real estate investing strategies, actionable ideas for refinancing rental, deferring taxes, and more.
11. Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat: The BRRRR Rental Property Investment Strategy Made Simple
Written by David M. Green
David Green’s rehabbing and rental strategy in Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat is going to seem complex at first, but it’s what he’s been following to scale his business from buying two houses per year to two per month.
This is one of the best books on flipping for anyone interested in rehabbing houses to generate rental income. Each chapter is dedicated to one part of his strategy while embedding some basics along the way. So don’t feel intimidated if you’re new!
Green also covers critical wealth-building strategies for those who want to make real estate investing part of their long-term planning.
Listen to Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat for free on Audible
Is flipping a house still profitable?
Flipping houses is like any other business venture. There are risks along the way, but for savvy and well-informed investors, there is still a lot of money to be made.
One of the most common mistakes novice flippers make is to underestimate the time or costs associated with their flip. If you’ve ever owned a home, and especially if you’ve ever had to make any kind of repair, you know that things can go wrong at any point.
I recently talked to someone who was buying their first home, not a flip, and two weeks in they discovered that they would need to replace the floor under their master bathroom. They had maxed out their savings to put a downpayment on the house and were struggling to figure out how they’d afford that major repair.
That’s just the reality when you’re dealing with real estate. Any purchase you make, whether as a homeowner or flipper is an investment. Go in with all the knowledge you can gain so you avoid any surprises.
Get a free Audible trial and check out the best books on flipping houses for free
The books on this list will teach you how to evaluate homes so you avoid any surprises, but they also teach you how to create a budget that allows for surprises and make extra money with real estate. And six of them are available to read for free when you sign up for a free Audible trial.
Here’s which books are available through Audible’s free trial:
- The Book on Flipping Houses
- FLIP: How to Find, Fix, and Sell Houses for Profit
- Flip Your Future
- Real Estate Investing QuickStart Guide
- The Book on Rental Property Investing
- Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat
Honestly, the investment you make in any of these books will put you on the right path to completing your first or fifth flip.
About Millennial Money Man
Bobby Hoyt is a former band director who paid off $40,000 of student loan debt in 18 months on his teaching salary and then left his job to run Millennial Money Man full-time. He helps other Millennials earn more through side hustles, save more through budgeting tools and apps, and pay off debt. He is a personal finance expert who has been seen on Forbes, Reuters, MarketWatch, CNBC, International Business Times, Business Insider, US News, Yahoo Finance, and many other personal finance and entrepreneurship media outlets.
