Estimating the rehab costs

[Curtis Thomas]

I am just getting started. Many years ago I spent 11 years as a real estate agent and a mortgage broker. I want to get started flipping. I started my LLC, got a bank account set up and put some money in it. It is time to look at properties. What I feel I am missing currently is my ability to estimate the rehab costs quickly. I picture that I am going to find something I like, do my own research as to an ARV, get a contractor to go look at it with me and wait for them to give me an estimate. I am thinking that by the time the contractor gives me the cost for the project the homes will many times already be sold and after a couple times of doing that the contractor will no longer want to go look at houses with me. For those of you investors that do not have a construction background, like me, how do you quickly estimate the costs? I think it may even be in my best interest to partner with an investor that has a construction background, but perhaps is lacking in the other skills needed to get deals done.