How accurate does the repair estimate need to be on a wholesale deal sheet?
New to Real Estate · Houston · Member since 2026 · 80 posts · 64 votes
For wholesalers, how tight do you try to make the repair estimate before sending a deal to buyers?
I see a lot of deal sheets with a single clean rehab number, but in reality, the range can be pretty wide.
Example:
ARV: $260k
Asking: $145k
Repair estimate: maybe $45k–$70k depending on finishes, roof/HVAC, and what the buyer plans to do.
Do you think buyers prefer a single number, or is it more credible to show a range?
I’m trying to understand where the line is between “good enough for dispo” and “too vague to be useful.”
Would you rather see:
A) $55k repairs
B) $45k–$70k repairs
C) light/moderate/heavy rehab scenarios with different MAOs
The one thing a wholesaler can do for investors is to use accurate numbers. Legitimate comps, rehab numbers that include what needs to be done. To be fair, all investors will rehab a bit different so the number will vary. Is it a flip or BRRRR, that will make a difference.
I would prefer what needs to done cosmetically and there estimated number. Needs an updated kitchen and bathroom, paint, roof, etc.
Some wholesalers do a great job. Provide a walk through video which is more helpful than photos or a description. I can calculate my rehab from a decent video walk through.
Honestly I trust wholesalers more when they give a realistic range instead of pretending rehab is an exact science.
A deal that says “$55k repairs” with zero context usually tells me they either rushed the estimate or are anchoring best-case numbers.
Range with a short condition note beats a single number. Something like '45-70k, roof and HVAC are the swing items, finishes depend on exit strategy.' Flippers and landlords will price the same house differently anyway, you're just giving them the inputs to do their own math.
Construction / Developer Background here. Hi!
A single clean number on a wholesale deal sheet is almost always a guess dressed up as confidence. Buyers who've been burned know this, which is why that $55k number gets immediately discounted in their head anyway.
Option C is the most credible by far. Light, moderate, and heavy scenarios with different MAOs tells the buyer you actually understand construction AND you respect their time. It also protects you as the wholesaler because you're not anchoring to a number that blows up during due diligence.
The buyers worth having in your network — the serious ones deploying real capital — want to see your thinking, not just your number. Anyone can throw a $55k estimate on a sheet. Showing three scenarios with logic behind each one is what separates a credible wholesaler from the noise.
For that deal specifically, with roof and HVAC as unknowns, a single number is almost irresponsible. Those two items alone can swing $25k-$40k depending on what you find. Build that into your scenarios and your buyers will trust your deals a lot more.
Good enough that your buyer doesn't feel misled — not perfect. I always present repair estimates as ranges rather than exact numbers and I'm transparent that I'm not a contractor. Most experienced cash buyers will do their own walkthrough and estimate anyway. What matters more is your ARV accuracy and making sure there's enough spread for everyone to profit.
As a buyer myself, I like to see what specifically needs work for the deal.
For example:
Full gut
Needs work (interior and roof)
Just cosmetic updating inside
Turnkey
Then from there I would run my own numbers. I've seen some wholesalers shoot themselves in the foot when they provide estimated repairs, as sometimes investors can do it for a lot cheaper so I'd rather just see what the repairs consist of.
Ali — answer is C. Show buyers the scenario range with corresponding MAOs, not just a midpoint number.
Here's the framework I use on deal sheets I send out:
Light rehab — $30K (paint, flooring, lighting) → MAO at ARV × 70% with a $10K fee = $142K
Moderate — $50K (light + kitchens, baths, HVAC if needed) → MAO = $122K
Heavy — $70K (above + roof and any structural) → MAO = $102K
Then I label the deal accordingly: "Asking $145K — buyer should plan light to moderate; heavy rehab buyers walk past." That keeps me honest with my dispo list and helps the buyer self-select before they waste time on a property they can't make work.
The single-clean-number approach is what burns wholesalers with hard-money-funded flippers. They show up at inspection, find $20K of unexpected HVAC or foundation work, then pull out demanding a price drop or kill the assignment fee. The range upfront prevents that conversation.
Two things that improve credibility either way:
1. Attach 3-5 photos of the actual problem areas — roof from the ground, HVAC nameplate, foundation cracks if any. Buyers stop asking questions when they can see what they're getting.
2. Be honest about which scope you actually verified. "Roof: viewed from ground, not walked" or "HVAC: confirmed working, age unknown" tells experienced buyers you didn't fake the diligence. They pay a premium for that honesty.
The buyers who matter — the ones with capital and a real track record — pay more for an honest deal sheet than an optimistic one.
Great thread Ali. There's actually a source most wholesalers overlook that makes this entire debate moot for certain properties: county code enforcement records.
When a property has an open code enforcement case, the county inspector's violation descriptions often include dollar-amount repair estimates. These aren't wholesaler guesses or contractor bids — they're government-documented repair costs from the actual inspector who walked the property. Things like "roof deterioration — estimated $8,000–$12,000 to replace" or "HVAC unit non-functional — estimated $5,500 to repair." Itemized, with dollar amounts, from a county employee.
When you can attach a county code enforcement file to your deal sheet, the repair estimate conversation changes completely. You're not showing a range you pulled from experience — you're showing what the county documented. That's a fundamentally different credibility layer.
For properties with converged distress signals (tax delinquent + code violations + maybe a probate filing), the code enforcement file alone gives you more repair detail than most wholesalers can generate from a 20-minute drive-by. The buyer sees itemized violations with dollar amounts from a government source, not a wholesaler's best guess.
That said, I still agree with the scenario approach Burton outlined — use the county data as your baseline, then layer light/moderate/heavy on top of it. The county numbers anchor your moderate scenario in documented reality, and the buyer can adjust from there.
The wholesaler who pulls county code enforcement files before building their rehab estimate is working from a different data layer than the one guessing from photos.