"A comprehensive how-to manual on the business of buying and reselling houses for profit.

Debut author Covington, a veteran real estate investor and developer who attests to seven-figure yearly profits, provides a wide-ranging tutorial aimed at eager but apprehensive novices. This latest entry in the QuickStart series covers all the basics, including getting in on deals with the help of real estate agents, whom she recommends as an indispensable source of leads; financing purchases with a mix of standard and offbeat sources, from mortgages to credit cards to money from investment-club members; and assessing the quality of a property and the repairs needed to bring it up to market value. She also discusses scoping, budgeting, and overseeing renovations; selling a renovated house with specialists such as “stagers,” who supply furniture and décor to provoke an “emotional attachment” from prospective buyers; and structuring one’s business enterprise to take advantage of tax loopholes. Beneath the broad outlines are a wealth of insider tips regarding such topics as paint colors (Covington is partial to “neutral, modern shades such as gray or cream” for interiors), scripts for cold-calling real estate agents, and red flags regarding shifty contractors: “Do they talk a lot and promise you the moon, or do they speak conservatively, laying out all the downsides and risks?” All this information is clearly organized with helpful charts and diagrams, checklists, and an appendix of sample contracts and other necessary documentation. The author brings all this to life with entertaining stories about her own flipping triumphs and pratfalls, complete with expense figures and bottom lines. Overall, Covington conveys her advice in lucid prose that’s stocked with aphoristic wisdom: “You always want to purchase the worst house on the block for your flip, not the property next to the worst house!” she writes of one deal in which she paid the next-door neighbors to spruce up their exterior. Readers eyeing a plunge into real estate investing will find Covington’s practical advice and street cred helpful and reassuring.

A savvy, soup-to-nuts primer full of useful information and insights."

- Kirkus Reviews