average cost per SF for rehabbing houses

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Hi everyone.  have completed 2 houses so far, ive tried to keep detailed records as to every purchase, every man hour spend doing the work and this is what i have come up with;

* I came up with these numbers by doing 90% of the work myself, no subcontractors. I assumed a pay rate to myself of $30/hour and I typically hire semi skilled help for around $15/hr. I did all the work, from drywall to installing new floors to plumbing and electrical. All work was done with permits......well most of it was ;)

* houses are entry level to next step above entry level. fixed up selling price of 100k to 225k

$20/SF = minimal work; (house could be lived in as is, although severly needs updating)

replace countertops, salvage kitchen cabinates, stainless steel new appliances. light update to bathrooms, paint and new carpet or refinish existing floors. replace most light fixtures and faucets. replace all doors. light electrical and plumbing primarily only to update fixtures. little to no exterior work other than light landscaping. 

$26/SF = moderate work; ( lengthy uninhabited house, cant be lived in without some minor work at minimum) 

everything above, plus: complete gut and replace kitchen and bathrooms top to bottom, replace one HVAC component such as AC or furnace. light to moderate amount of drywall patching and replacement. light to moderate electrical and plumbing needed and some new runs. new floors throughout house. replace one of the following; roof, windows or siding. light landscaping and a new deck. 

$31/SF = heavy work; (typical abandoned/condemned house, heavily vandalized) 

everything from both categories above, plus: moderate to heavy drywall replacement throughout the house, mold/water damage remediation possibly needed. some walls may need to be moved to correct layout issues. substantial amount of plumbing and electrical need replaced. all three needed; New roof, siding and windows. moderate to heavy amount of landscaping needed, new deck, possibly extra structures on property need demo'd and removed such as extra gerages, etc.

when i say $$/SF I mean if i look at the MLS and see the house has 2,000 finished square feet I would take my number such as $20/SF and multiply it by the listed 2,000 so my budget for example would be $40,000.

I obviously didnt include every single work item that would be included in these budgets but it gives you an idea of the 3 types of houses im talking about.

 my costs above are for actual renovation work only, they do not include your monthly carrying costs such as utilities, taxes, insurance, loan interest, realtor sales fees, closing fees, etc.

do any of you have numbers you use to quickly gauge how much renovation work will cost without having to spend a full day calculating every single thing over and over again for each house? I still do detailed estimates when getting to the point of writing an offer on a house but for screening out the new daily forclosures and auction houses that come up, im trying to get a simple formula for the rehab portion. 

[Chris C.]

I have used per/sf calculations like this but be careful about the difference between 1200 sf and 2200 sf.  The 2200 is going to be cheaper per sf because big ticket items like the kitchens and baths are generally close to the same size in both homes.  The other rooms are generally larger or you have more bedrooms.  Spreading the kitchens and bath expenses over greater sq/ft helps reduce per sf cost.  You will end up either losing money on a smaller sf home or overbidding and not getting a larger home because you think that the repairs are going to be higher.

I use a spread sheet that mixes fixed and per sf items to come up with a quick repair estimate.