How to accurately estimate ARV w/o experience?

[Paige Clarke]

Hi BP Network-

Need help-

How do I go about estimating the cost of potential repairs for a house/condo if I have limited experience with rehabbing and GC costs. I especially am unsure because I am new to the NJ market and am not sure if the costs drastically change for location/supplies/labor/etc. 

I know I can head to a Home Depot and estimate supply cost if I have an idea of the square footage/area coverage. However- in regards to labor, I want to learn, but don't know how to go about this without putting something out for a real estimate. 

Question: How can I become more knowledgeable and better educated about estimating these costs so I can have an accurate ARV?

Thank you!

[Brian Spitz]

Paige - 

If you are trying to estimate the ARV I think you're looking for the after repaired value. The best way to determine the ARV is to work with a licensed agent (or become one) so you can access the sales records in your local listing service. Learning to pull comps this way is the most accurate way to determine value. You can use Zillow or other similar sites but they are often quite wrong and can hurt the chance of landing a deal if you depend on their numbers.

For repairs the best thing to do would be to go to a local REIA group (real estate investor association) and connect with contractors and investors. Investor-friendly contractors often offer services as vendors (or even just through networking) at a good REIA. Ask them to give you repair estimates and tell them you will pass those estimates along to an end buyer when you wholesale the deal. The right person in that environment can teach you a lot about determining ARV and repair costs.

Best of luck!

Brian Spitz