Rehabbing Larger Buildings. HELP!

[Josh Tonecha]

So my partners and I are examining our first larger multi family project (well large for us). Its roughly 7000 sq ft of former bar/hotel space that we want to turn into new apartments. The building will essentially need gutted anyways so a new layout makes total sense. 

Questions:

What is the most effective strategy for doing a demo of this size? We had 2 thoughts, paying a company to do everything OR hiring and supervising many laborers and ordering roll offs and just managing these people until its completed.

What is a good rule of thumb for estimating the cost of the rest of the repairs? 

This is in the Pittsburgh PA area so if anyone can speak to costs in this market specifically that would be most helpful.

Thanks,

Josh

[Joe Hughis]

@Josh Tonecha - Demolition and cleaning are often on the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to a property buildout.  Unless you already have an established crew who can do it for you, I would highly suggest you hire a company to do it.  As others have mentioned there are safety, insurance, permitting and liability considerations that you are better off not having to deal with directly.  Believe me, the demo portion is literally just the tip of the iceberg.  Focus you attention on the bigger picture and outsource that portion.