Am I paying too much for a gut rehab in Berkeley?

Question

Hi Guys,

I was quoted 190K for a gut rehab of a single family home ~1200 sq ft in Berkeley. The footprint of the home is staying the same but we are changing it from a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom to a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom. We are also adding a bathroom to the garage. Since its a gut rehab down to the studs, it requires new plumbing, electric, some new framing, roof, floors, windows, doors, paint, trim, insulation, drywall, recessed lights, kitchen, 2 small decks, garage door, porch repair, re-concreting driveway, landscaping front yard and back yard (very small lot 2,200 sq ft). Finishes will be mid-tier, basically what you see in most of the flips nowadays, quartz countertops, mid tier appliances, vinyl floor. 4 months of estimated rehab time. This comes out to be roughly $158 a sq ft and was the cheapest of 3 quotes I got.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Hayden

Kam T. · Answer

Congrats Hayden! Please do post up the details.

Hayden H. · Answer

Hi Guys, checking back in. Just sold the flip for 200K+ profit. Pretty crazy for my first one, will do a longer/detailed post in the Rehabbing and Flipping forum. Stay tuned.

Hayden H. · Answer

Thanks and will do. I'll post it after it officially closes since the realtor/buyer might be on BiggerPockets hahah.

Hayden H. · Answer

Thanks for the reply guys. Forgot to add in the HVAC, move two bearing walls, adding an attic, patch some siding -you get the gist. Foundation is solid.

Yes all will be done with permits from licensed and insured firm. I’ve seen their work in two flips in El Cerrito before and I'd say its pretty good. I'm asking for a bit higher quality in the accents (a few barn doors, more tasteful tiling).

The two other quotes came in at 228K and 250K. All contractors walked through the property so the scope should be pretty clear. My guess is the 190K bid is hiring cheaper labor but who knows.

@Frank Wong, nah but I know which one your talking about - the one that closed for 640K at 1628 Acton St? I find it weird it sold under listing by 160K and took so long given the location. Yet that street looks a bit shoddy and the house layout is just odd, can't seem to identify the property lines either.

I'd like to keep the address private for now but will definitely post it once its over.

Frank Wong · Answer

Hi Haydon,

I think that sounds about right but compare all the quotes.

Is this the house on Acton St near N Berkeley Bart?

Matt K. · Answer

Whats the difference between the other bids? If it's drastic you'd probably wantto understand why to make sure all the bids are the same work.

Charlie MacPherson · Answer

@Hayden Hsu That sounds pretty reasonable and maybe too cheap.  Around here, I'm hearing numbers between $175 and $200/sq ft.  I would have guessed that Berkeley would be more expensive than metro Boston.

I'd like to take a look at a few of their recent projects and if possible, talk with the current owners.

Check them out if they're listed on Angie's List, HomeAdvisor and Yelp.  Be sure that they're insured and that they'll pull permits for all work done.

I'd also be curious as to how far off the other quotes were.  If the other two were close to each other but 25% higher, I'd be a little suspicious of the low offer.

Angelou Masters · Answer

not bad. I would prob charge a bbn out the same.

Am I paying too much for a gut rehab in Berkeley?

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