Easy Formula to Estimate Repair Costs - Tennessee

[Benjamin Barredo]

I know I know. There's no simple way to estimate repairs but there has to be a simple formula to get in a ballpark so that one can make a quick offer.

I like the idea of square footage multiplied by a price.

Does anyone in Tennessee have a price - maybe a different price per renovation level (cosmetic with appliances interior, one with exterior, and then more complicated flips up to stripping down to the studs) - that can be multiplied against the square footage?

J Scott's book says he can use a number of $12 x sqft for a simple cosmetic job. Considering he's in GA I'm going to say that that's quite close to us here in Knoxville, TN.

Anyone?

[Cooper Bert]

I'd also consider that the $12/sq ft that J Scott wrote in his book was several?? years ago.  I'm talking about when he was using the $12 figure, not necessary when the book was "published".  Adjust accordingly.

I've also given up on anything being a true "cosmetic" only reno.  It's always "cosmetic" plus new doors or "cosmetic" plus appliances, roof & furnace, etc.

We use a simple, manual spreadsheet with ball park pricing for each of the rehab disciplines.  It follows the categories we use on the House Flipping Spreadsheet and is one number we can figure immediately after a walk through.  Takes about 10 minutes and we have an offer number on the spot.

As an example, new stainless appliances are almost always $2.5K, regardless of size of house.  We figure $3sf for laminate floors so that multiplied with a quick SF number + tile gives us floors, etc, etc.  We use a total of 24 categories to come up with the estimate.  If the offer is accepted, we go back and break down the estimate, reinspect the property on a micro level, and make sure the numbers are true.

Try this out and you'll be much closer to true reno number with very little additional time.