Contractor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2016 · 267 posts · 144 votes
I was reading on the forums and I saw some investors complaining about bad wholesalers. Their reasons were mostly related to the wholesalers inability or dishonesty in estimating repair costs for the buyer.
I have been in construciton the better part of my life so while I do have general ideas of what repairs could cost but I would like to hear from good wholesaers how they go about giving accurate estimates, or better yet, I would love to hear from buyers what they would like to see from a wholesaler.
I understand the frustration with wholesalers giving bad rehab numbers, but truthfully a wholesaler's repair estimates should never be used when deciding to buy a property or not. Generally they are not good at rehab estimates because they've never rehabbed a house, but also rehab numbers vary greatly depending on finishes, labor cost, a rehabbers experience and contacts, etc. so even if they do hit the nail on the head, a buyer will say it's wrong.
You should get an address and the asking price from a wholesaler, that's about all you can count on.
Call 3 contractors to bid a job and tell me if you get the same quote. It is ridiculous to expect the Wholesaler to give you an accurate quote when they don't know your construction costs. I believe it is a two way street some wholesalers underestimate and some rehabbers are overpaying for renovations.