How to accurately valuate repair costs

Question

How would I go about  accurately estimating the value of repairs without looking at the property or contacting people for the sake of time and not spending money?

Xavier Stanish · Answer

Hey Walter,

I am complete agreement with what Frank said. Understand your cost of materials (are you going planning on doing a lower grade rehab or is it a project in an area that demands that you use the best materials?) My best advice is to constantly be talking to contractors, even in day to day conversations. They know exactly what labor and materials cost and are usually willingly to talk about it

Walter Feeney · Answer

@Frank Geiger thanks again!

Walter Feeney · Answer

@Xavier Stanish thanks Xavier I’ll start calling these folks!

Frank Geiger · Answer

I think it's beneficial to understand the cost of materials in your market. After you know the costs per square foot of material, you can figure out labor costs, and add a decent profit in for the contractor. The best thing you can do is start exposing yourself to that side of the house. But it's not always necessary. Some of the best investors don't know much about the construction portion of the process. They just have dependable contractors and systems.

Walter Feeney · Answer

@Bob Okenwa thanks bob!

Bob Okenwa · Answer

To be honest, you are unlikely to get an accurate assessment of a property without looking at it or having someone physically check it out on your behalf. Listing photos only tell part of the story and shouldn't be taken as gospel when estimating repair costs.

If you just want to use the photos as practice, then I would suggest reading a book on estimating repair costs to help you get some ballpark figures on how much repairs costs and go from there.

How to accurately valuate repair costs

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