rehab cost questions / loans

[Ronald Erwin]

Hello! bigger pocket pros. I made the decision today that I would like to become a real estate investor!! ( got the go ahead from the wife ahah) I currently have 2 properties one is a rental and one I'm living in.  I am about to move back home to Oregon, currently in iowa, I am going to be selling the rental house i have and going to rent my current residence. I am going to use some of the money from selling to start my investing. I had a few. questions in regards to rehab cost, how do you find an accurate number on rehab cost. do you hire a contractor to come out and give you an estimate or do you look into cost of items that need repaired and calculate the cost that way. second  has debt to income ratio  bin a problem for anyone starting out when it comes to have approval for loans.

[Ron Rohrssen]

Wow. That might seem like a simple question. But, it prompts several other questions in my mind.

1. Are you inclined to do some/all of the work on your own to save money? Then you might only have material costs.

2. Even if you are able to do the work, you mentioned that you're moving. Do you want to take the time to do the work?

3. If you have some experience. You can probably come up with a pretty decent material list. Add a percentage to that like 10-15% for unknowns or things that don't typically get accounted for. (e.g. the extra sheet of drywall, nails, tape, paint, primer, new trim boards, etc.)

4. If you want to go the contractor route, try to get at least 3 quotes and references. Be prepared to give them good details on what exactly you want done.

You know the scope of work better than me.

When it comes down to thumb in the wind estimates you can find national averages for almost any type of rehab work. If you don't have a decent lumber yard/big box store near you then materials are probably a bit higher, but labor might be cheaper.

Just a quick google came up with this. (I'm not vouching for credible numbers here.) Home Advisor Remodel Costs