Help Estimating Rehab Costs for First Home Buyer

Help Estimating Rehab Costs for First Home Buyer

Member since 2022 · 1 post · 0 votes

Hello wonderful community! 

I am a big time BP fan but so far most of my investing has been in the stock market (I work in finance so that is a field I understand better). However, we are in the market for our first house. We found a property that we really like but will need a lot of work. We have not made an offer and done a full inspection yet because I was hoping this community can help guide me approximately how expensive the rehab of this house would be. It is an old house build in the 1910 and it has been unoccupied for a number of years. The home is in Hopewell NJ and they are asking $400k and selling as it. From touring the place, I estimate all the major things would need replacing or fixing. That includes the roof, septic, well, oil tank (potentially), installing HVAC as there is currently no central air, there are some cracks on the walls which I don't know if they indicate foundation issues, the house is sloping in places, there is water damage in the basement and the attic. Can someone who has experience with contractors in this area or at least New Jersey give me the worse case estimates for each of those things? Other than that, the rooms look mostly cosmetic, new flooring and paint (I am pretty sure there are hardwoods under the carpet as that is what they have in the attic). In an ideal world we would want to convert the attic to the primary bedroom and add a bathroom up there so an estimate for that would be appreciated as well (though it is obviously not a priority). 

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  • New to Real Estate · Sunnyvale CA and Maplewood, NJ · Member since 2022 · 257 posts · 161 votes
    3y

    You can use the BiggerPockets rehab estimator for some of the more predictable things like the roof, flooring, paint or adding a bathroom. Google "oil tank removal cost nj" and you'll get some quotes for oil tanks if no remediation is required. If remediation is required the worst case is rare but really bad. You'll need the advice of an expert on whether there actually is a foundation issue.

  • Realtor · NJ · Member since 2020 · 277 posts · 138 votes
    3y

    @Nadezhda T Karkelanova Congrats on your first post!

    I would highly, highly recommend J Scott's Book on Estimating Rehab Costs. It's a perfect primer for you to get insight into general frameworks for all different types of rehab, and it also gives you cost ranges for each type of work. 

    Based on everything you described above, though, that property sounds like quite a large undertaking for any investor, especially one on their first deal or rehab. The combination of having to address a septic system and an oil tank at the same time is generally not advised, and that's without taking into account the potential foundation issues.

  • Lender · Jersey City, NJ · Member since 2020 · 101 posts · 43 votes
    3y

    I can't help with the estimates but what I can say is that if you do move forward, make sure you're getting into the right loan. It's not enough to simply finance the renovation costs into the loan but you'll want to sure you're getting support from the lender who will help manage the scope of work, licensed contractors, supplies, payout and is available on weekends/holidays/afterhours for any questions you may have.


    I'm not sure if I can help because you may be better off passing on this property or working with someone else entirely, but I may have time to share information about the financing process for these types of projects to give you a better idea of what to look for. 

    Welcome to the team and good luck on your RE journey!

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