House Rehab Estimate Help

[Gaurav S.]

I am first time homebuyer trying to estimate cost of repairs to a home I am in escrow with. I have been bidding on homes since last 1 1/2 years and this is the first time I have gone in escrow.

[b]Photos: [url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/91185836@N07/sets/72157633112387305/detail/

[/b]Inspection Report : [/url]http://www.scribd.com/doc/132951995/Inspection-Report-for-SB-home

The home is a 1958 1200 sq ft 3bd/2ba home with slab foundation. The seller made illegal additions to the home(a room in the backyard,garage conversion washing machine in a cabin at the side of the house, water heater placed on the front porch,etc) that I will have to fix

Here are my cost esimates. Please comment if these look reasonable. Can you also share which projects could be done by myself vs needing to hire a contractor. I am a software engineer by profession and I do have ample time on weekends to work on these tasks. Question is more about acquiring the skill.

Demolish Concrete and put soil and Grass on sides and backyard 2000
Pest and Termite Work 8500
Gas Heater Replacement 4500
Asbestors Duct replacement 1500
Popcorn Ceiling with Asbestors scraping 2500
Floor replacement 7000
Painting Interior 2000
Kitchen countertop change 6400
Appliances 4000 (2x refrigerator,2x stove,1xdishwasher,washer & dryer)
Minor Plumbing Leaks 200
Windows Replacement(8x) 2400
Toilets x2 500
Chimney 3000
Misc Repair 1000
Paint outdoor 3500
move water heater inside the house 2000
Replace two side doors 1000

Thanks a lot for your time.

[J Scott]

I haven't looked at the pictures, but based on your location and the fact that you'll likely be using retail-level contractors, most of the estimates don't seem too off.

The one that stuck out at me was the termite and pest control. Does this include fixing existing damage? If not, you're probably WAY high on this one. Depending on the type of termites (and pests), you're probably looking at closer to $1000-4000 just for extermination.

Countertops also seem high, unless you have a lot of them. Granite in your area is probably $50-60/sf retail, so unless you have a LOT of countertops, that estimate is probably high.

And the water heater shouldn't cost more than $800 to install, plus a couple hundred for the additional plumbing/venting. Though I guess if you're moving far from the rest of the plumbing in the house, it could be close to your number.

Without more information, the rest looks about in the ballpark.