Rehab Costs

[Derek T.]

Okay so I am trying to get better at estimating rehab costs and currently I am trying to come up with a list of how much repairs will costs. From my understanding their are two philosophies when it comes to repair costs: some people estimate a general amount per room or square fee while other people break down everything to determine their rehab costs. I am wondering which philosophy you employ and was wondering if someone can double check my rehab repiar list for accuracy in the DC/MD/VA area. This is what I have so far....

Demo- $1000 (work and dumster)
Roof- $5000
Exterior Paint- $2.00 per square foot
Interior Paint- $1.25 per square foot
Windows- $200 ea
Interior Doors- $200 ea
Exterior Doors- $400 ea
Kitchen- $4000 (includes cabinets, counter top, appliances, sink)
Bathroom- $2500 (complete bathroom)
Flooring- $2.50 per square foot (finished hardwoods)
Drywall- $3.00 per square foot
Tile- $3.00 per square foot (ceramic)
Carept- $2.00 per square foot
Electric Panel Box- $1000
Water Heater- $500
HVAC- $3500
Lawn Care- $500- $1000
Misc- $5000

Does this look abaout right without breaking it down into every item? And would anyone be willing to share their material list for these items in particular cabinets, flooring, etc.

Also another formula I read was to when a house needs to be refinished it should cost about $20 a square foot for a house. So a a 1500 square foot house should take roughly $30,000 then add outside costs (roof, lawn, etc.) and misc. of $5000 and that is a quick rough estimate. Is this formula something you do to get a quick estimate when looking at many houses at a time? Thanks for any input.

[J Scott]

It's going to be very difficult to generalize repair costs like. For example, your roof estimate of $5000 may be accurate or may be way off, depending on the size of the roof, the pitch, the complexity, the contractors your hire, the time of year, etc.

Some of the other prices look in line with what I'd expect, and some are likely way off, but with all the variables involved, it would take a book to discuss all the details of estimating (and then there would still be work that you'd need to do to determine local prices based on the information you had gained).

I'm working on putting together a detailed guide on estimating costs, but I'm still a month or two away...hopefully it will help new investors get their heads around all the aspects of renovations and the variables that go into estimation of costs.

Until then, I recommend you break all these areas down into labor and materials, and then break your estimates up into those two pieces. You'll find it's easier to get more detailed estimates that way.