How Much Should I Pay For Demo/Gutting?

[Matthew B.]

I just bought two duplexes which I discuss in the forum post here. I normally do the demo work myself, but since I'm working on some other things at the moment, I decided to throw an ad up on Craigslist and see if I could get some bids. 

The units need to be gutted. Carpet, vinyl, tile, cabinets, sinks, tubs, etc all removed. 

I received about 50 emails within the first couple hours of posting on Craigslist. After sorting through the junk, I found that most of the people and companies who responded quoted me somewhere between $250 and $2,500 per unit.

I was thinking $125 per unit would be a fair price. There's a dumpster on site, so no hauling, and only one of the units has tile. Even at $250 per unit, if each unit takes a day to demo, we're talking $30 per hour. No way!

Am I right, or am I being too cheap?

[Justin Stamper]

I wouldnt be cheap because you will end up spending more than you planned when a day laborer cracks your water main.

Which I learned the hard way.