Paying contractor to inspect home and provide estimate

[John Luchristt]

Hello,

I am new to investing and have identified a possible BRRR property. The property has not been taken care of (my guess is 10+ years of deferred maintenance) and requires upgrades to the kitchen and bathroom. I've put together a repair list, but since I have not undertaken a heavy renovation yet I was going to have a contractor go to the property prior to me making an offer and ask them to put together an itemized repair list. Since there wouldn't be a guarantee that I'd even be purchasing the home and this wouldn't be a regular project bid, I was thinking of paying the contractor a fee (similar to an inspector) to walk through the home and work up the itemized list. Has anyone taken this approach before and, if so, what type of compensation did you provide to the contractor?

Thanks!

John

[Mark Langdon]

This can be sketchy if you don't know the contractor(s) or you do not have any experience dealing with them or how much renovations cost. I guess you could try getting multiple bids from contractors you have checked out that have very high ratings/reviews but know it always costs more and takes longer than you think. I don't pay contractors to get bids but not sure about your area. As @Tyler Fontaine said always best to lock it up and get it under contract if the numbers work for the property that much and then put in your get out clauses while you get home inspections/contractor bids during the inspection period once you know more so you can get out if the numbers don't work anymore. Also try to partner with someone who knows good contractors and/or construction costs so you can get knowledgeable. Best of Luck !