Rehab company dilemma...Is it me...or them?

[Allende Hernandez]

Hi folks,

I am super excited of finally being brave enough and pull the trigger on my first rehab deal. It is in Orlando FL and I am in Miami (about 4 hrs away). Closing of the purchase  could happen as soon as this week so I am anxious to get started and move on to the next one.

My dilemma comes from the "turn key" company that helped me buy the house (it is an REO, so they provided the realtor) and they also are supposed to manage the rehab and the sale.

When I first interviewed(phone) with one of the owners everything looked great and communication didn't seem to be an issue. The realtor did a great job and the owner gave me a rehab estimate within 2 days of the offer being accepted. All good until here. I even did lots of research on the company and it has very good reputation, so I felt good about them

The estimate I was given was a lump sum with all the items listed, no broken down list. I met with the guy in person the weekend after and asked him to give me a more detailed estimate (at least the high ticket items). He seemed a bit thrown off but said he would.

We are a over a week after and I'm still waiting for the new estimate. Left a VM 2 hrs ago with no response yet.

As I am a newbie I am now questioning a few things. Is it customary to get rehab cost from these kind of companies as lump sums? Did I make a rookie mistake by asking for a detailed breakdown of the costs that could have cost me "reputation points"?

I haven't given up on them yet but this is not giving me a good feeling. It makes me believe like this guy was nailing me and it'd be exposed if he breaks down the costs.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts!