Your process to creating SOW for calculations...

[David Beasley]

Hey all! I'm a brand new member. I've been reading and listening a lot the last few months and will be pulling out a HELOC for an all cash purchase on a BRRRR, for a first time purchase. I'm super excited!

One quick question. The BP podcasts and books talk a lot about analyzing deals and then making offers depending on what works for your criteria (ROI, Cash flow, etc). I'm feeling like I'm getting pretty proficient with the BP calculators, but I'm struggling with the rehab input data.

How do you all go about getting an SOW for your calculations? Are you all that good at looking at the listing pictures (if it's on the MLS) and estimating a SOW? For example, if you miss that a property needs a new roof that's a pretty big error in your calculations and could really mess up your ROI.

My second question is do you guys personally offer on a property/get a property under contract without receiving a bid(s) first? I feel like it could get pretty expensive for a first time buyer (who doesn't have a GC on their team yet) to pay for a bid for every house they offer on. Or even yet, ask for free bids and waste the contractors time and burn future relationships. 

To sum all of this up...how do you make a lot of offers on properties without knowing what truly needs rehabbed? 

Any recommendations would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.