How do you decide how to remodel to get the best use?

[Ben Feder]

How do you know what to do, for example, for converting something into a master bedroom, or remove walls in a certain area, or any other type of restructuring or remodeling project where real estate is altered to fit a new purpose or design? Do you need real estate design expertise or lots of hands-on experience to know how to proceed? Also how do you estimate properly what the costs for rehabbing will cost in advance before actually hiring contractors?

[Dalton Dellinger]

Having a good relationship with a realtor in the area in which you're wanting to invest is key for this reason. They can tell you (without you having to waste a lot of hours going to look at multiple houses in the neighborhood) what the comps look like, which upgrades will give you more bang for your buck, if they are worth doing, etc.

To answer your rehabbing cost question, I strongly recommend J Scott's book, The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs. I read the original version, and in the back, there are spreadsheets made up to give you a good idea of what costs to expect. Most contractors will give you free estimates for projects too, and you can (subtly) ask them what they charge for certain items. If you let them know you are an investor and will potentially use them for multiple projects, they might be more apt to give you this amount of time and information. 

Good luck!