Aspiring Rehabber.....stuck on getting a house under contract!

[Kristin Britt]

Hi All,
I am a newbie here. Love the site and love reading everyone's experiences. Its nice to be "amongst" others with the same interests. Thank you in advance for any insight or advice you can give me! I appreciate every bit.

We have done one gut rehab on a turn of the century house in St. Louis (that we lived in while gutted). Did a beautiful job-once on the market it sold in two weeks, but spent way too much and took way too long. We also have 7 long term hold rentals in various cities. I also have a full time job, and am out of town travelling 1/2 the week every week. While out of town, I do have down time where I can do what I need to do on the computer and phone.

We have taken extensive training from the CT Homes guys (Than Merrill and his group from Flip This House on TV)....they offer a good rehabber course, and have been actively looking and making offers. We have an LLC, we have about 6 or 7 neighborhoods picked out for starter homes in pretty good areas. I have my real estate license and so we are able to access the MLS.

But I seem to be stuck. I am using the 70% formula for offers (after repair sales price x 70% -rehab costs = max offer). I am finding that my offers are just not getting accepted, and I think I need to raise my offers....but I am somewhat nervous about whether or not my rehab estimates are correct. If I knew my fix up estimates were right, I wouldn't mind raising my offer, but without having done one, I worry it will all cost a lot more than I anticipate.

For those of you with experience.....how did you get good repair estimates while you were evaluating your first deal for the offer price?

I can't have a contractor go around with me to every house I look at.

Should I approach some contractors from Angie's List or something to get some good numbers for a specific repair list? Anybody from South Florida know where to get good numbers?

What do you all think?
Thank you!!!!!
Kristin