Anyone have a good calculator I can use when trying to get an estimated rehab cost for a property in the Los Angeles Hills? I really don’t want to screw up the underwriting.
I'll shoot you a DM with a free tool that might help you estimate the rehab costs!
That said, with a property in the LA Hills, I'd definitely be careful with things like foundation, drainage, retaining walls, and access.
Those can get expensive pretty quickly. I'd use the calculator for initial numbers, add a good contingency, and get a local contractor to verify the costs before making any decisions.
You might find a rehab cost estimator useful for getting a rough idea of the renovation budget. It’s also worth getting a few local contractor quotes, especially for properties in the LA Hills, so you can make your numbers more accurate. Are you currently looking for properties to invest in?
Ambrose, I'd actually use a line item tool over a quick calculator. Full disclosure, I built a free rehab cost calculator in Rehabfolio for exactly this: rehabfolio.com/tools/rehab-cost-calculator You build the scope room by room and system by system (roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, windows, kitchen, baths, floors, paint, exterior, permits), drop in real bids on the big systems as they come in, and it keeps a running budget with contingency so you can see if the deal still works.
That said, no tool knows what a hillside is doing. Get a structural engineer out before you firm up an offer and look hard at drainage, retaining walls, and the driveway or access, since those are the lines that go from zero to six figures. Check permit history for unpermitted additions, and see if it's in a very high fire hazard severity zone, because that changes what you build and what insurance costs.
I'd carry 15 percent contingency on a cosmetic job and 20 to 25 on an older hillside house with systems work. LA permits drag too, so budget a few extra months of carrying costs.
A calculator is fine for a first pass. It is not an estimate, and I would not buy on one.
On a BRRRR in Memphis I use it for a rough range, then I walk the house with the contractor who will do the work and price the big items line by line — roof, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and the conversion if I am turning a 2/1 into a 3/1 or a 3/1 into a 4/2. That walk is the real number.
Then the test: purchase under $100K, ARV $180K to $265K, and a DSCR refi at 70 to 80% LTV that covers what I have in it. If both numbers do not fit inside that, I pass. Calculators do not miss by a little on old houses. They miss on the big items.
A calculator is fine for a first pass, but in the LA hills the big swings come from things a per-square-foot number won't catch: foundation and retaining walls, drainage, permits, and whether a truck can even get to the house. I'd build a rough room-by-room list (roof, systems, kitchen, baths, flooring, paint) with local pricing, add a 15-20% contingency, and walk it with a contractor before you lock in an offer. If there are unpermitted additions, price in what it would cost to legalize them too. Are you looking at a cosmetic refresh or a full gut?