Estimating Rehab Costs and Capturing Crucial Information (2024)

Estimating Rehab Costs and Capturing Crucial Information (1)

As a real estate investor, one of the key components to successfully flipping properties is to accurately estimate rehab costs. This involves walking through the property, identifying major issues, and taking good photos to use as references later. This blog post discusses how to focus on big-ticket items, capture important information, and handle unexpected situations during property walk-throughs.

Focus on the Big Ticket Items

When conducting a property walk-through, pay special attention to the big-ticket items that can potentially lead to expensive fixes. These include:

  • Roof condition: Check for leaks, missing shingles, or other signs of damage and wear.
  • HVAC system: Take note of the age and condition of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system.
  • Electrical systems: Determine whether the electrical system is up-to-date or outdated based on the panel and brand.
  • Plumbing: Inspect water heaters, pipes, and fixtures to identify any necessary repairs or replacements.

Categorize the level of distress for each of these items and determine whether it requires a light, moderate, or heavy rehab. You can then use a price per square footage estimator to calculate the rehab costs for each category. For example, you might use $30 per square foot for a moderate rehab, $20 for a light rehab, and $65-$70 for a heavy rehab. These figures may vary depending on your local market.

Take Quality Photos

Taking clear, high-quality photos of each room and any specific issues is crucial for both estimating rehab costs and presenting the property to potential investors. Ensure you use a good camera (most smartphones are capable) and capture images from various angles for a comprehensive view. Additionally, make sure your photos are well-lit and do not have any blurriness or distortion.

Good photos will not only help in accurately estimating renovation costs, but they will also make marketing the property to other investors much easier if you decide to go the wholesaling route.

Estimating Rehab Costs and Capturing Crucial Information (3)

Be Prepared for the Unexpected

During property walk-throughs, you might encounter unexpected situations that can impact your rehab estimations and negotiations with sellers. Some examples include:

  • Plumbing issues, such as pipes being left running to prevent freezing, which can lead to water damage and higher rehab costs.
  • Heating systems not functioning and alternative heating methods are being used, posing potential safety hazards.
  • Pest infestations or other health-related concerns.

In such cases, it is important to remain calm, continue gathering information, and empathize with the seller's situation. Listening to their story and showing genuine interest in helping can go a long way. It's essential to maintain an honest and transparent approach with both the seller and any potential investors.

Conclusion

To excel in real estate investing, accurately estimating rehab costs is crucial. By focusing on big-ticket items, capturing crucial information through quality photos, and being prepared for unexpected situations, you can set yourself up for success. This will help you make sound investment decisions and lead to profitable deals. Always remember that practice and experience will improve your ability to estimate rehab costs, so keep learning and growing as an investor.

To learn more about estimating rehab costs, check out the full episode of The DealMachine Real Estate Investing Podcast.

Estimating Rehab Costs and Capturing Crucial Information (4)

About Samantha Ankney

Samantha has been a media specialist for DealMachine for 2.5 years. She produces, edits, writes, and publishes all media that is distributed to the DealMachine and Real Estate Investing community.

Estimating Rehab Costs and Capturing Crucial Information (2024)

FAQs

What is the most accurate method of estimating repair costs on a rehab project? ›

Contractor Quotes

The best way to get an accurate estimate of the repair costs associated with a rehab project is to get actual quotes from contractors.

What is a rehab budget? ›

Rehab Budget means a budget for refurbishing the Hotel Property, which shall be attached to the Business Plan, as the same may be amended from time to time pursuant to the written approval of Limited Partner in accordance with this Agreement. Rehab Budget .

What does it mean to rehab a property? ›

A house rehab is when an investor buys a property in its current condition and renovates or improves it. The goal of rehabbing a house is to sell it for profit or rent it out to tenants as a long-term investment strategy. It's important to note that rehabbing a house differs from buying a fixer-upper.

What does full rehab mean? ›

With a full rehab everything is on the table in terms of repairs/replacing things in a home. A new HVAC install usually is needed with new ductwork as well. Plumbing and electrical may have been stripped out of the home for the recycle value and thus needs to be entirely run again.

What are the three 3 main methods of cost estimating describe each method? ›

There are four principal cost estimating methodologies: 1) Comparison/analogy, 2)Parametric, 3) Detailed engineering/bottom up, and 4) Extrapolation from actual costs. Other methodologies include Expert Opinion (from Subject Matter Experts) and catalogue pricing.

What are the 2 basic approaches used to estimate the cost of project? ›

In contrast to top-down estimation, the bottom-up approach starts the cost calculation process with the identification and evaluation of separate project components. The expenditures for every individual project task or a series of tasks are then summed up to arrive at the total project cost.

What is rehab value? ›

If you're thinking about flipping a property, you might be wondering “what does ARV mean?” as you come across the term in your preparation. ARV takes the value of the final rehabbed property into consideration and serves as a way to determine how much money you should put into an investment.

What does it mean to rehabilitate a building? ›

Rehabilitating. Historic Buildings. Rehabilitation is defined as the act or process of making pos- sible a compatible use for a property through repair, alter- ations, and additions while preserving those portions or fea- tures which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values.

What is rehab in mortgage? ›

A rehab loan is a loan that homeowners and investors use to finance the acquisition and renovation of a home, often as a residence. Rehab loans are ideal because they combine acquisition and rehab financing into a single loan, making it a fast and easy way for investors to finance a project.

What are the 4 phases of rehab? ›

Phase 1 - Control Pain and Swelling. Phase 2 - Improve Range of Motion and/or Flexibility. Phase 3 - Improve Strength & Begin Proprioception/Balance Training. Phase 4 - Proprioception/Balance Training & Sport-Specific Training.

What is the last stage of rehab? ›

The Function Stage. The final step or the rehab process is to work towards restoring function. In order to effectively restore a patient to pre-injury levels of function, it's important to address higher-level capabilities in order to reduce the risk of re-injury.

What is included in rehab? ›

Examples may include karaoke, art activities, movie nights, fitness activities, yoga, and holiday-based activities based on the time of the year. Some people choose to spend their free time reading or journaling, while others may use the time for prayer or meditation.

What is the most accurate method of estimating the cost of a project? ›

Bottom-Up Estimating

The most accurate and time-consuming estimating method is to identify the cost of each item in each activity of the schedule, including labor and materials.

What is the most accurate method of estimating cost? ›

The actual cost method is probably the most accurate cost estimating method when the data is available. The Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) prefers this method since it uses actual or near actual data for the system of interest.

Which is the best cost estimation technique? ›

11 cost-estimating methods
  1. Parametric estimating. The parametric estimating method involves using historical data to determine the costs of each part of the endeavor. ...
  2. Analogous estimating. ...
  3. Three-point estimating. ...
  4. Top-down estimating. ...
  5. Bottom-up estimating. ...
  6. Project management information system. ...
  7. Delphi method. ...
  8. Decision-making.
Jan 26, 2023

Which type of cost estimating has the highest accuracy? ›

Estimating technique

A bottom-up estimate prices each specific task individually to roll up to an actual cost for the overall project. A bottom-up estimate is the most detailed and accurate and can be completed using takeoff software.

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