BiggerPockets

One way is to get three estimates from recommended contractors.

Best when you given them a list of the work you want done so they are bidding on the same thing. The list can be produced by the home inspector as it will be the same items the inspector writes up normally.

John Corey

1. Have a trusted GC provide you with a cost of repairs.
2. Purchase a as-is/subject to appraisal.
3. Have a realtor provide recent comparables (both on market and recently sold) based upon FMV/ARV.

Regards,

Scott Miller

I personally never use a GC. I hire subs as needed and do a lot of things myself. I look at the ratio of cost vs. time, sometimes it is quicker for me to do some things myself and other times I save a lot of time by hiring the work out. I like to manage my own projects so the GC is not needed.

8)

I have 4 guys that work for me full time and do most of my repetitive tasks such as but not limited to: painting, cabinets, roofing, siding, yard work, windows, tile, carpet, light fixtures, and light plumbing. I sub contract out the more serious plumbing and electrical. For me I found that it is easier this way because we constantly have projects waiting to get started I try to plan that no more than 2 weeks before the next project is started usually less than 1 week but you know how things go.

With a general contractor the will bid the job do the job as they are working on other projects as well and then when things they quoted you are done thats it, it doesn't matter that the doors need trimmed because the carpet and pad are too thick, that the outlets need to be changed because now they look bad on a freshly painted wall, if it wasn't in the original qoute it is extra and they may not be able to get back to it for 2-6 weeks as they are already scheduled for their next job. That is why I decided to hire my own crew I just say to get it done the way you would want to see it when you would be moving in. Also once a week they take half a day and go around to the properties and hit the lawns, or driveways for snow in the winter and such. GC's in my opinion are a waste of time and money, I use subs when I need to for more " important issues" and my crew for tidious items.

Do you all bring in contractors for estimates before or after you purchase the property? I have an idea of how much the repairs will cost for a property I am considering, but I am debating whether I should try to get some real estimates before I put in a bid.

Casey

when do you do the work yourself? some people believe that its not worth their time, they hire for everything, others the opposite.....

REI, I understand exactly what you mean. I currently rent. I'm still looking to buy my first house to occupy. You guys are light years ahead of me.

Ideally, for my first flip it would be great for me to do some of the minimal skill tasks to make sure I stay within a set budget. The only thing is that my previous question hasn't been answered:

How can I estimate/ assess what a rehab house is going to cost to rehab before I buy the property? Does an inspector estimate the cost of repairs?

I'm still worried about figuring out how to assess a property & set a budget. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

Charles,
Do those numbers include labor or are they for materials only?
Jon

When getting bids try the following. It helps to deal with the issues BeachBum highlighted above.

1. Have a professional inspector create a list of everything that needs attention. Understand no list is perfect and somethings can not be observed until work starts. The point of the list is to have something for the contractors to work from.

2. Get three bids using the inspection report to tell the contractors what you need done. This way they all bid on the same thing. Much less room for an contractor to submit a bid that is widely different from another contractor as they are bidding on the same thing.

3. Have the labor split out from the materials. The materials really should not vary as you are effectively buying the same things for all the bids. Other than waste and maybe a slightly different process the materials really are going to be the same.

4. The labor should be where a contractor factors in unknowns. Things like they are not sure if it will be a simple task or something that will take longer. There are things that are not known until they start the work. You will also see differences based on the skills, the size of the crew, etc.

A contractor working on a fixed bid should pad the bid to deal with contingencies. Mostly that is a labor cost so they should only be padding the labor.

5. Compare the material costs using HD, Lowes, the site recommended by BeachBum.

6. Assume that when you buy the materials and have them delivered you will have less waste then if the contractor buys them. If you are doing multiple properties you can carry materials from one site to another (shingles for example). If the contractor buys the materials they pick them up, they use what they need and they leave with the surplus in many cases. Habit seems to be the only reason.

Do not focus on the lowest priced bid unless you understand why it is lower. Some are more efficient and some are just not as good.

John Corey

do you guys do all these estimations before you purchase the property or after?