Your views on the exterior siding of this house?

[Jacob Beg]

Hi All-  I have purchased this property where the house needs major rehab. 

I am in two minds whether to do something about the dated exterior siding? I never had to change exterior siding before so also seeking opinions about what type of siding should I go with? This is a 2000 sq ft house and what sort of cost can one expect? I plan to flip this house. 

[JD Martin]

That is wood shake siding. Refinish what you have - flipping this property, you are going to be looking for a specific type of buyer and you will not recover the cost of residing it in a way that preserves the architectural interest of the property. Scrape loose paint areas first, repair any damaged shakes, and repaint entire house. 

There's no brick underneath that siding - that house was designed that way. Based on the architecture I'd guess it to be 1900-1920s time frame construction. The house next door has a serious lean in its porch column, so I am guessing this is a transitional neighborhood.