Real Estate Agent · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 6 posts · 1 vote
When you have found a potential deal and you are getting ready to make an offer, part of the calculation for that offer has to include the necessary repairs to either bring that property to its potential retail value or make it tenant ready. I understand that bringing a contractor in to provide an estimate for these repairs would give you a good idea, but this could also be time consuming and would require estimates for several different properties to get good data. Then there is the fact that material and labor costs fluctuate fairly significantly at times which would change these numbers. This brings me to the question, how do you "ballpark" the repair costs for a flip and for a rental so that the turnaround on an offer is faster? And because there are different figures in every market, I would appreciate some Hoosiers from central Indiana giving some insight.
Flipper/Rehabber · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2013 · 61 posts · 43 votes
8y
try https://www.homewyse.com/ for materials + labor estimates (together or separate), by zip code, to get a range, that way you have some idea ahead of talking to contractors.
Investor · Southern Indiana, IN · Member since 2017 · 178 posts · 95 votes
8y
At the top of your screen under TOOLS there should be a tab that says "REHAB ESTIMATOR". That's one way. another way is to call a contractor and ask for a budget without a site visit. Or go online and google "flooring replacement cost - by sqft" or "bathroom rehab costs" do that for each piece of rehab you think you'll need. Lastly, if you post detailed information about the type of rehab you may even get some ball park estimates here on BP
Lake Zurich, IL · Member since 2017 · 7 posts · 1 vote
8y
Andy-I am struggling with the same thing. I visited an off-market property today, and part of the problem I am having is properly estimating cost. This particular property needed a fair amount of repair, as it was a partially finished DIY rehab. Probably too much of a work scope for my first project, but I am still trying to figure it all out.
I plan on spending some quality time on Home Depot/Lowes/Menards web sites to get cost or cost/square foot for various materials (drywall, toilets, various types of flooring, etc.) Even doing that does not get me to the full cost for labor to install. I plan on keeping it simple at first and only use a few materials. One tile for backsplashes, one type of wood flooring, one color/design scheme, etc.
The only other thing I can think of to do is to try and get some contractors to spend some time with me and give me labor+material cost and then a separate figure for just labor. Not sure how I will find the contractors, but again, I will just keep plugging away one step at a time.
I'll be watching this thread for more suggestions!
Flipper/Rehabber · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2013 · 61 posts · 43 votes
8y
try https://www.homewyse.com/ for materials + labor estimates (together or separate), by zip code, to get a range, that way you have some idea ahead of talking to contractors.
Real Estate Agent · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 6 posts · 1 vote
8y
When you meet with a prospective seller, typically I would like to be able to provide an offer within the next 12 hours or so. This would not typically allow time for a contractor to come in and provide a repair estimate. Therefore, I feel like I can use the above mentioned resources to get a rough number, but the likelihood that it is accurate is very low. I suppose this is what the inspection clause in the purchase contract is for. Any suggestions on what to say to the seller to help manage their expectations in case I need to re-negotiate the purchase price?