How to determine renovation costs?

[Aaron Misiph]

Hello,

I am brand new to this website and have started reading some of the bigger pockets books to educate myself. My girlfriend and I have decided that we want to buy our first home this summer, and we are looking to get a multifamily and live in one of the units.

Through the reading that I have done so far, it is recommended to buy a property at around 80% of what it is actually worth, that needs some work done so you can get some forced appreciation. The part that I am really struggling with is being able to walk through a property, see the state that it is in, and determine how much money I would need to fix it up to realize that forced appreciation. Does anyone have any suggestions on books or any other way of learning how much these renovations will cost. Or is this one of those things that you just have to figure out as you go?

Thanks for any help.