Painters Pricing - expensive?

Question

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.

#RealEstateInvesting #NHRealEstate #AgentToInvestor

Janice Carter · Answer

@Andrew Bosco Very true. A lot of investors are still underwriting rehab costs based on 2021 pricing and getting burned. In my market, flooring, dumpsters, HVAC replacements and even basic turnover cleaning have all jumped significantly. Insurance and holding costs are also becoming major budget killers, especially when projects run longer than expected. Conservative underwriting and larger contingency reserves are more important now than ever.