Want to begin my BRRRR journey, how to estimate rehab?

[Ethan Smoldt]

Hello All,

I have been listening to and following the Bigger Pockets group for about 3 years now and am itching to jump right in. I am currently reading three books and my excitement to close my first deal grows with each day. I have my google spreadsheet that can help determine what cash on cash return I can expect and I am trying to find a couple of deals a day and run through the numbers. I'm looking at SFHs that are listed for less than $120k and are disstressed. I am mainly finding homes that are between 600-850 square feet. I feel like the only part of my number-crunching that I'm "guessing" or "estimating" on is the rehab budget and ARV. I have a scheduled phone call with a real estate agent I connected with through Bigger Pockets this Monday to hopefully get more insight, but how are you able to look at a property and know how much needs to be put into it and what that property would be worth afterward? I have been looking at comps within the same block to get an idea of the ARV, but I have no experience with how much renovating actually costs. I'm located in the central FL area and would love to get any help from this community if possible!

-Ethan