Painters Pricing - expensive?

[Andrew Bosco]

Painters are charging $5 a square foot now.

That's not a typo. It's up from $2–$3 a square foot just a year or two ago.

On a 1,000-square-foot flip, that's $5,000 you didn't budget for - and that's before you touch landscaping, structural contingency, or the dump fees you always forget.

I was building out a rehab budget live with a coaching group this week and realized I had left painting off the sheet entirely. My initial budget was $72K. With painting added, you're closer to $88K–$90K.

That gap matters. A lot.

Here's what I'd tell anyone building a rehab budget right now: painting is not optional, and it's not $2K for a ranch anymore. Plan for $5 per square foot and build that into your scope before you make your offer - not after.

While you're at it, check your landscaping assumptions too. I saw a property this week where tree removal alone was probably $10K+, and it wasn't on the initial estimate at all. These are the line items that quietly kill margin on a flip that otherwise looked fine.

The market for labor has shifted. Your rehab estimates need to catch up.

What other line items have surprised you recently? I want to hear what people are seeing in the field.

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