Customer Reviews

The Complete Guide to Flipping Properties

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've read a half dozen or more books on flipping/rehabbing and none of the others come close to this one when it comes to financial analysis. Most authors focus on the "how to's" of flipping, which Berges does also, but he outshines all of them when it comes to analyzing real estate.

Berges walks the reader through using several examples in a financial model to help properly analyze an investment property . At the end of the analysis, if the returns are acceptable, you buy the property and if they are not, you pass on it and go on to the next one. No emotional attachments here. Buying and selling is done strictly on an analytical basis.

A lot of authors tend to focus on getting in to a deal for "nothing down" but say very little, if anything, about value. Just because you can buy a house for nothing down doesn't mean it's a good deal or that you should buy it. Out of all the real estate books I've read over the years, Berges is the only one to really emphasize value.

My guess is that Berges will lead the way among future writers by emphasizing value and financial analysis just like Robert Allen led the way with the nothing down techniques in the 80s and 90s.

Two thumbs up!

I read Berges' book The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartments about a year ago or so and liked it so well I couldn't wait for him to come out with another book. His book on Flipping is every bit as good as the book on apartments. Berges provides a comprehensive and complete approach to anyone interested in buying and selling houses. He wrote about a similar topic, which he referred to as "the value play" in his apartment book. In the flipping properties book, Berges applies the value play strategy, which is to buy, add value, and sell, all in a very short period of time. The idea is to get in, get out, and make money!

Although Berges covers one of the same topics Bronchick does, he does it in a different way which gives the reader another perspective. Authors write about similar topics all the time. There's nothing wrong with this. Berges also covered several topics that Bronchick did not. No harm there either. It's pretty clear to me that judging by their writing styles and backgrounds, Berges likes the finance end of real estate while Bronchick prefers the legal end. Maybe the two should consider teaming up!

I just finished reading this book and I must say the author Steve Berges has done it again! I read his book about buying and selling apartment buildings which was very well written, so I decided to give this one a try. I wasn't disappointed as Berges really delivers on the topic of flipping. Not only does he describe in detail the underlying theory about the different types of flipping, but he supports it with actual examples.

My three favorite chapters were Chs 3, 6, and 11. In Ch 3, Berges describes what he refers to as "the value play strategy" which basically has to do with creating value in investment properties and turning them for a profit. Ch 6 was an excellent chapter focusing on several examples which used detailed financial analysis to help really understand how to value properties. Most of all, he explains how to know when to buy a property or when to pass on it. The last chapter of the book, Ch 11, was not so much about real estate as it was about how to succeed in life, regardless of your chosen career path. Well done and inspiring.

I really like this book because it leaves you feeling good about yourself and about your ability to accomplish your goals. In my opinion, the book is a must read for anyone interested in learning about flipping properties.

I've read most all of the books on flipping and rehabbing. This book is by far the best! The author uses many examples and provides step-by-step instructions that are easy for readers to follow. He also includes an entire chapter on how to actually find these properties which was really helpful to me. I was able to use this information to locate four houses over the last month and currently have one of them under contract.

I highly recommend this book to both beginning investors and to those who are more experienced as the author seems to have a knack for writing to a wide range of audiences. Great book!

I bought William Bronchick's Flipping Properties book, so I thought I'd buy this one too see if it had any additional tips. On the topic of flipping, it had very little. The first thing I noticed is that Berges uses exactly the same 3 phrases to describe flippers as Bronchick did - Scout, Dealer & Retailer. I am thinking to myself, "isn't this some kind of plaigarism?"

Second, the book does not cover anything about the new FHA "anti-flipping" rules. It does not even discuss the legal vs. illegal flipping debate.

Third, the book has two full chapters on personal development and motivational material. If I wanted that, I would have bought a Tony Robbins book!

Fourth, the only legal forms the appendix contains are property inspection checklist and a TX board of realtors form. That's about 16 pages of blank "standard" broker forms that aren't even filled out by example.

All in all, a few good tips, but certainly far from the "COMPLETE" guide to flipping properties. If you're looking for something to supplement Bronchick's book, look elsewhere!

Steve Berges' book on Flipping Properties is well written, concise, and action packed! The author uses lots of stories from his own successes and shares with the reader what to do, and what not to do.

Berges walks the reader through the entire process of flipping from start to finish. He describes the basic process of flipping, the different methods of doing so, and numerous financing and purchase techniques including a section on options.

The author then goes into a much more advanced level of financial analysis and really helps the reader to understand property values by looking at several examples. I've learned more about real estate finance from this book alone than any of the other books on real estate I've read.

I especially liked the concluding chapter of the book. Berges departs from the topic of real estate and discusses what he refers to as "The Three Principles of Power." Referring to these principles, Berges says, "You will be empowered to fulfill the measure of your creation, to reach your true potential, and to enjoy the generous gifts life has to offer. Your capacity to soar to magnificent heights far beyond the reach of the general masses will become infinite in scope, unlimited in magnitude, and vastly immeasurable by ordinary standards."

Wow... Powerful stuff! Berges concluded his apartment book the same way, that is to say, with a motivating chapter like this one. This book is certain to become the Bible of Flipping!

I enjoyed reading the book. It's a good beginning book for someone who knows nothing about the real estate industry. It was well paced and did not ramble into other segments of real estate. It was unclear to me whether the models in the book were pricing labor AND materials, or just materials. The more help the beginner gets, the happier everyone is. Perhaps some consideration could be given to helping beginners with contractor issues? Contractors are very reliable, but so many people fail to realize the contractor may have many clients, or that contractors function best when given COMPLETE sets of wants and desires. Thanks for writing the book. It definitely addresses many issues for the uninformed.

His book on flipping properties is not nearly as good as his "The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings."

I really liked his first book, and when I saw this one on the bookshelf, I picked it up without hesitation. To my dismay, this book doesn't do its job getting a REI newbie off the starting blocks, and it definitely doesn't give any additional information to the flippers who have been in the business for a while.

My advice is to skim through this one while you are at the bookstore, and then put it back on the shelf.

Excellent book very easy read,very informative, would recommend this book. I purchased other books on the same topic but this was by far the best

I back-up a previous review stating that this is far from "A complete guide" to flipping properties. I did a lot of research on the web prior to getting this book and found that there is a lot more valuable information out there for free than what I paid for in this book.

For instance, he talks about assembling your Team. He didn't even list a CPA as a member of your Team.

Waste of money in my opinion.