Getting more skilled in estimating rehab costs?

Question

What’s a great way to get better at estimating rehab costs? I have books, I have a limited background in it (Dad is/was a GC in Pennsylvania but I did mainly labor and gutting of everything). Overall - besides actually doing it or hiring a GC, what’s a way to practice or become more knowledgeable?

J Scott · Answer

Find local investors who have flips coming up.  Ask if you can walk their properties and put together a rehab estimate that you can compare with what they are budgeting.

Perhaps offer them something in return (payment, your time, your knowledge in some area, etc) to sit down with you after your walk through to compare notes and provide you more info.

David Robertson · Answer

Learning how to Estimate Rehab Costs takes time, practice and experience.  Here is the process I recommend to new investors that want to learn how to estimate costs:

#1 Read the Book on Estimating Rehab Costs

JScott's 'The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs' is a great resource for new rehabbers to learn how to Estimate Repair Costs on 25 common rehab repairs.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/store/the-complete-g...

#2 Explore Lowes and Home Depot to Learn About Material Pricing

Take a tour through Lowes and Home Depot (or their websites) and look at finishes materials and fixtures that you will consider using in your rehab projects. This will help you get a better idea of what tile, hardwood, carpet, plumbing fixtures and light fixtures costs for your rehabs.

#3 Contact Local Contractors for Labor Pricing

Call local Subcontractors and get budget pricing for common repairs on your typical rehab project.

For example, call a roofer and ask what their average cost per Square of Architectural Asphalt Shingle Roofing would be on a 1,500 sf house, with a 6/12 pitch.

Note: Some contractors will be reluctant to share pricing without seeing the property, but tell them you are just looking for a rough budget number you can use on future projects.

#4 Compile Your Prices into a Spreadsheet or Estimating Software

Once you start to get a better understanding of Labor and Material costs you will want to store this data into a spreadsheet or software that you can use to help you streamline the estimating process.

The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs comes with a spreadsheet that you can use to help you populate your own database of labor pricing and material pricing. Or you can download my estimating templates I have in my Biggerpockets fileplace:

Simple Estimate Spreadsheet

Detailed Estimating Spreadsheet

There are other Estimating Softwares available as well which can help you manage the Estimating process as well...

#5 Practice, Practice, Practice

Walkthrough potential rehab properties (or find properties virtually online) and practice creating detailed scopes of work, quantifying repairs and estimating rehab costs for the projects.

Brandon Moore · Answer

@J Scott I listened to the BiggerPockets Show #10 podcast you were on a few days ago and I'm currently reading your book on rehab cost estimates. You've provided me with a ton of knowledge man! Thanks!

Brian Varmuza · Answer

Another way to add to the above great responses is to fake a project and put it together on homewyse.com. This will give you a ball park figure for your area, and you will start to get some knowledge and remember costs off the top of your head.

As with anything else... Practice makes better (cant use perfect).

Greg Dickerson · Answer

@Greg Stetz talk to GCs, trade contractors and investors and build yourself a price list of general cost items like roofing, painting, siding, windows doors etc. offer to buy them lunch or pay them for the time.

Marc Winter · Answer

Go into Home Depot at off hours (not early morning) and start conversations with the heads of each department.  Many of them are knowledgeable and/or ex contractors themselves.

For help finding reliable contractors, go to your largest plumbing and electrical supply house (not Home Depot or Lowes) and speak to the counter person.  Ask for referrals of who they know that are busy and fair.  Speak with the counter person about prices of materials, and ballpark for labor rates.

Getting more skilled in estimating rehab costs?

Most Popular Reply