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Ryan Dickerson
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Construction cost estimates/guides

Ryan Dickerson
Pro Member
Posted

I'm a new investor in Seattle and have been analyzing flips, short-term, and long-term rentals using Dealcheck and some proformas that local agents and investors have sent me. Does anyone have a trusty renovation/construction estimate calculator or guide they use for our market? 

I have used Coach Carson's recommended spreadsheet from "Woman Builder" (linked), and it's excellent for listing all the various cost categories I may confront on a project. However, I haven't found a good source for quick estimates based on the size of the project, year of build, etc., specific to our market. I'm still looking for a general contractor, but I don't have regular deals to make a GC's time valuable when estimating each job. I want to assess independently before reaching out and doing further due diligence with experts. 

Any recommendations? 

  • Ryan Dickerson
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    Rene Hosman
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    • Rental Property Investor
    • Denver, CO
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    Rene Hosman
    Pro Member
    • Rental Property Investor
    • Denver, CO
    ModeratorReplied
    Quote from @Ryan Dickerson:

    I'm a new investor in Seattle and have been analyzing flips, short-term, and long-term rentals using Dealcheck and some proformas that local agents and investors have sent me. Does anyone have a trusty renovation/construction estimate calculator or guide they use for our market? 

    I have used Coach Carson's recommended spreadsheet from "Woman Builder" (linked), and it's excellent for listing all the various cost categories I may confront on a project. However, I haven't found a good source for quick estimates based on the size of the project, year of build, etc., specific to our market. I'm still looking for a general contractor, but I don't have regular deals to make a GC's time valuable when estimating each job. I want to assess independently before reaching out and doing further due diligence with experts. 

    Any recommendations? 

     Great question Ryan! I've seen @Bruce Woodruff comment on many contractor related questions, maybe he can point you in the right direction of where you can find good education on the costs of rehabbing! 

  • Rene Hosman
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    Bruce Woodruff
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    • West Valley Phoenix
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    Bruce Woodruff
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    Replied

    Thanks, @Rene Hosman for the shout out.

    @Ryan Dickerson There really is no silver bullet, this gets asked a LOT. You really need an experienced (read old fart) GC to walk the project with you to be accurate and even then things can be missed. I wrote a Blog on this very subject.

    You will eventually learn enough to be of help to yourself, just keep doing it and record the prices so you can start to get a feel for SF costs.

    One thing I can offer is this website,I have checked them out and they are fairly accurate , you enter your zipcode, I just hate for people to be off by even $10k, that could be your profit on some projects, right? But try this: https://www.homewyse.com/services/cost_to_estimate_home_remo...

    Let me ask you this.....I was even considering offering a service to 'walk the property' via video conference and throw out some rough numbers....do you think that would help people?

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    Ryan Dickerson
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    Ryan Dickerson
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    Replied

    @Bruce Woodruff - thank you for the quick response and information. 

    I'm not opposed to walking with a GC, but I hoped to find something informational beforehand. 

    I'll try the home link; thank you for sharing that!

    As for your potential 'walk the property' service, I can see that being valuable for some investors. For a newbie like myself, it would be better for an in-person walk-through since I'm so novice I would have a hard time coordinating a video conference, questions I have/writing responses, etc., that it might be overwhelming. But that's just me. I can also see the alternative where a new investor would quickly understand the property and earmark costs before getting an on-the-ground GC to walk it. 

    Thanks, again!

  • Ryan Dickerson
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    Yanina Panfilenka
    • Real Estate Agent
    • Seattle, WA
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    Yanina Panfilenka
    • Real Estate Agent
    • Seattle, WA
    Replied

    I use Pellego (https://www.pellego.com/how/analyze) for rehabs and REI-lense (https://rei-lense.com/) for long-term and short-term rental analysis. No calculators, no spreadsheets, just a good tech with minimum work for you. 
    Estimating rehab costs - is a must read.
    Check Niko Lausiva from Take Two Construction. He's actively working with Seattle area investors.
    If you need help finding a processing a deal - can help you as an agent and Co-Host - let me know.

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    Replied
    Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

    Thanks, @Rene Hosman for the shout out.

    @Ryan Dickerson There really is no silver bullet, this gets asked a LOT. You really need an experienced (read old fart) GC to walk the project with you to be accurate and even then things can be missed. I wrote a Blog on this very subject.

    You will eventually learn enough to be of help to yourself, just keep doing it and record the prices so you can start to get a feel for SF costs.

    One thing I can offer is this website,I have checked them out and they are fairly accurate , you enter your zipcode, I just hate for people to be off by even $10k, that could be your profit on some projects, right? But try this: https://www.homewyse.com/services/cost_to_estimate_home_remo...

    Let me ask you this.....I was even considering offering a service to 'walk the property' via video conference and throw out some rough numbers....do you think that would help people?

    Hey Bruce, I have a moderate amount of rehab experience and wanted to say a "walk the property" service would be really helpful for me! I'm not quite at the point where I'm making offers yet but let's connect for when I'm ready!

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    Jonathan Klemm
    Contractors
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    Jonathan Klemm
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    ModeratorReplied

    Wow, @Ryan Dickerson I love your post because you seem to be on the right path.

    Figuring out your construction cost and building your team prior to entering into deals can alleviate a lot of stress during the project.

    Also, your respect and understanding of the value of a general contractor's time is impressive.  Here in Chicago, we charge to walk properties with our clients, so you could double-check with some of your local GCs in Seattle to see if you could pay them for their time.  Walking projects and hearing their thoughts will help you elevate your game and look at things differently.

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    Evan Polaski
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    Evan Polaski
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    • Cincinnati, OH
    Replied

    @Ryan Dickerson, while you will ultimately need to either make a somewhat blind leap or hope you can find a contractor that will walk your properties, one piece that I will add is: YOU need to know what type of finishes you are looking at, and understanding their material costs.

    I.e. are you going to do carpet, LVP, or true hardwoods?  In this case, the material cost AND install costs will vary, so having an idea before you even meet the contractor is important.  But also, things like tile.  You can do $1.20 psi white subway, or you can find hand fired $12/psf ceramic tiles.  The GC will likely cost about the same to install either, but the overall PSF can vary greatly.

    As you are meeting or talking with GCs, you also need to understand who is responsible for what.  Some GCs will quote you labor, and you are responsible for ALL materials.  Others will quote you labor + general construction materials, and you are responsible for finish materials, like actual cabinets, tile, flooring product, and some may bid more of a "turnkey" quote, that would include finish materials.

    I won't say any one is better than the other, but obviously the quotes can vary dramatically.

  • Evan Polaski
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    Ryan Dickerson
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    Ryan Dickerson
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    @Yanina Panfilenka - thank you for the additional links/tools.

    @Jonathan Klemm - thank you for the encouragement. Getting a GC to walk for a fee is great; I'll definitely use that in this area. 

    @Evan Polaski - amazing recommendations on the quality of materials. This is exactly why I want to start plugging numbers with examples based on different finishes and different sized projects. I'd like to have an idea of an XS, S, M, L, XL, and XXL project size for comparison based on comps. for like-to-like properties in the area. If I can estimate (and then have a runover of 10-15% expected), I hope to get close to actual rehab costs depending on the materials used. 

  • Ryan Dickerson
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    Jonathan Klemm
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    Jonathan Klemm
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    ModeratorReplied

    No problem @Ryan Dickerson!  I'd highly suggest attending as many local real estate networking events as possible in Seattle - find the host, make friends with them, and ask which general contractors they know, or ask who is doing the most deals in the group and ask them.