Estimating Advanced Rehab/Flip Costs in a Competitive Market

[Erica Post]

Does anyone have any tips for working to quickly estimate advanced repair costs in a competitive market? - How to work/partner with contractors to do a walk-through estimate prior to getting a house under contract (and how do you structure this deal/partnership) - Estimates/templates for residential property rehab/flip/update costs based on decade of construction and maybe based on duration of vacancy or deferred maintenance if known (I've found some general guides online of things to look for but nothing that gives an estimate by square foot that could be used for a quick estimate) - Others? I'm currently looking to purchase my first deal, which I plan to do as a live-in flip. While I have a good amount of comfort estimating "basic" repair/rehab costs at first glance (as comfortable as someone new to RE can ever be) - such as redo kitchen, bathroom, floors, paint, roof, etc. - there are a couple homes (found via the MLS) that I have passed on that were likely good deals but required repairs that I wasn't comfortable estimating in the short time I had to decide, or was uncertain enough that I didn't want to take the chance. As this would be my first deal, I want to be very careful to not bite off more than I can chew. Examples of issues include visible mold, exterior structural issues (crack in exterior brick that made it look like the house may have been settling unevenly), crack in foundation, etc. I am hoping that the BP community has some recommendations that would help me make an educated decision without having to bring in a specialist to evaluate each potential major issue prior to getting a house under contract. I'm currently reading J Scott's book on estimating rehab costs, and would love any other reading recommendations as well. I'm targeting the greater Seattle area, and specifically South King County (White Center, Burien, Tukwila, SeaTac, Rainier Beach, Renton) Also, if you're currently evaluating a deal in the greater Seattle area (King, Snohomish, or Pierce Co.) and are willing to allow me to shadow, please contact me. Thanks!