Providence - To BRRRR or Not To BRRRR during COVID

[Gabriel L.]

My wife and I are looking to make our first REI deal in the next 3 months. We're looking at small multi-family (2-4 units) properties in Providence, RI (ideally East Side or Federal Hill area) that we can house hack. We initially wanted to BRRRR, but we are wondering if contractor availability during COVID (given everyone seems to be renovating these days) will be a large impediment or not?

Also, this post is about BRRRR, but we'll take any advice on people looking at small multi-families in the time of COVID.

[Gabriel L.]

Hi @Anthony Thompson, thanks for your reply, it's really helpful. We definitely would want to focus on small-medium projects, but we're having a hard time creating a realistic budget/timeline for the Rhode Island market since we don't have a baseline of "normal".

We've been following David Greene's journey, and reading/listening to how other people have BRRRRed in other markets. Do you have any advice on how to find models of BRRRR / rehab timelines and costs for Providence? For example, if we are looking at a three unit multi-family property (2 beds/1 bath each) where the kitchen and bathroom could use a refresh and bit of modernizing, do you have any suggestions on how to come up with a cost estimate and timeline during non-covid times? and then how would we tweak that model during covid times?