What’s average rehab cost in the Philadelphia area

[Ante Bolling]

How much do contractors usually charge per sq ft in the Philadelphia area looking for ball park figures. I’m hearing a full gut is the way to go to start fresh

[Troy Sheets]

Originally posted by @Ante Bolling:

How much do contractors usually charge per sq ft in the Philadelphia area looking for ball park figures. I’m hearing a full gut is the way to go to start fresh

It ranges depending on size and finishes but I'd use at least $85/ft of occupied space for single family, but I personally budget $100/ft for rough numbers and the nicer projects I do. Multifamily is even higher due to fire ratings, fire alarms and sprinklers plus more kitchens and baths packed into a small box. There are investors that get it done for less but they're few and far between and usually have their own people on staff or have a long standing relationship with a GC and do dozens of projects per year, or are about to get ripped off and just don't know it yet. 

[Ante Bolling]

@Troy S. So we talking like 102k to 120k for a 1200 sq ft full gut reno

[Troy Sheets]

Originally posted by @Ante Bolling:

@Troy S. So we talking like 102k to 120k for a 1200 sq ft full gut reno

Exactly. If the sewer and/or water line out to the street is good, you can potentially save a bit there. If it's a grandmom special and the HVAC is good and you're not changing layout much you can save there, maybe the roof is good, etc., but if it's a shell where the roof is collapsing, I'd budget the $100/ft. Don't forget architecture, financing, holding costs, selling costs like transfer tax and realtor commissions if you're flipping. 

Also, if you're finishing the basement, add that square footage in as well. You'll likely have to dig down and underpin plus all the other finishes that go in down there. It ain't free to finish a basement although investors want to believe it is! 

[Igor Messano]

Great info Troy. Do you have any idea what kind of building Philly is requiring to have sprinklers vs just central fire alarms now? I am starting to look at bigger properties and am always concerned that if I start doing extensive work and pull permits they are going to come in and tell me I need to spend 20k on sprinklers.

[Irfan Raza]

@Troy Sheets haha about finishing basements for free.  There is definitely a cost to that, but for some reason I forget to budget for them appropriately as well. I agree $100sq foot is a definitely a good number to start out with, but also think it can easily get to $110 sq foot with extensive joist repair and masonry. 

[Troy Sheets]

Originally posted by @Igor Messano:

Great info Troy. Do you have any idea what kind of building Philly is requiring to have sprinklers vs just central fire alarms now? I am starting to look at bigger properties and am always concerned that if I start doing extensive work and pull permits they are going to come in and tell me I need to spend 20k on sprinklers.

 That's tough to say in a blanket statement. If you do enough repairs to a rehab the city calls it new construction and you have to meet todays codes, including sprinkler, but it's pretty extensive repairs, like changing around a large percentage of the buildings structure (floor joists, exterior walls). I don't recall the exact amount. I believe change in use may trigger it and definitely an addition will. Your architect should be able to tell you. 

[Troy Sheets]

Originally posted by @Irfan Raza:

@Troy Sheets haha about finishing basements for free.  There is definitely a cost to that, but for some reason I forget to budget for them appropriately as well. I agree $100sq foot is a definitely a good number to start out with, but also think it can easily get to $110 sq foot with extensive joist repair and masonry. 

Oh man, you'll blow people's minds if you tell them $110/ft.! Wait till they learn about larger MFH rehab costs!

[Jimmy O'Connor]

@Ante Bolling and @Igor Messano $/sqft is a good rule of thumb, although not universal. Once of the best functions is to figure out the differences in the quality of rehab per neighborhood as it informs what kind of finishes support that pocket. With that being said, applying price per square foot to the size of a home can sometimes be misleading as the relationship is not linear. There are constants in certain ranges of square footage.

Example: 1,000 square foot rehab vs a 2,000 square foot rehab. 

You will double the flooring, likely the the drywall, paint, etc. What costs you will NOT double: The plumbing fixtures, the water heater, the wiring/electric panel, amount of piping/PEX,  the condenser/furnace. Some of these are bigger price tags that you should consider before applying the price per square foot formula to every rehab. 

[Mayer M.]

@Ante Bolling

I’m about to start two side by side triplex rehabs, so six units total and it’s gonna end up costing about $615k. This includes sprinklers, all new masonry, new water/sewer lines, etc. total before demo is 6250sf, total after demo is 5750sf so $107 psf

[Irfan Raza]

@Mayer M. are you doing the management yourself.  $107 is a good number to budget.  I would be interested what the number is after you are done.

[Mayer M.]

@Irfan Raza

I am not acting as the GC. This is a guaranteed maximum price from a GC.

[Irfan Raza]

@Mayer M. definitely want to see what ends up happening here as it is good pricing in my opinion. I got a leak-free guarantee/warranty from a roofer once that was 5 years! It was amazing until all 5 of the roofs he worked on leaked and he was nowhere to be found. 

[Mayer M.]

@Irfan Raza

I’ll keep you posted