Estimating Rehab Costs On BP Calculator

[Account Closed]

Hello all,

I've been using the BP Rental Calculator to analyze some different deals, but one part of the equation that I always feel as if I'm speculating too heavily on is the ARV and Estimated Repair Costs. I've been examining slightly distressed properties, with the hope of performing a good amount of renovations on the property to get a higher ARV.

However, I'm a college student with little knowledge of the cost of maintenance/repairs on a home. The costs of flooring, roofs, siding, HVAC, etc, are pretty much unknown to me. I know that there are books available on how to accurately estimate this, which I will eventually read when the time is appropriate, but when searching for deals I'm obviously not going to tour each home and do a detailed analysis. 

So to summarize, my question is not on how to get a super accurate estimate of ARV/Repair costs, but rather, how to get a good ballpark estimate when I'm only looking at a few pictures and a short description of the property on sites like MLS and Zillow, or when Driving For Dollars.

Thanks in advance!

Patrick

[Casey Kleinhenz]

If it's a simple 1 or 2 BR property that has been properly maintained I'd pencil in $150/mo.

Bigger, higher-end property, maybe including landscaping - you'll need to do more homework.

Keep in mind that may look like 2 years of $0 expenses, then 6K in one wad