Also use less expensive materials if you are still over budget. 

I have pulled material pricing from home depot, and walked the property with 2 contractors and multiple inspectors.

Fixer-uppers or full packages?

Be persistent, honest, and the confident that once the deal materializes you will find the means and support to close. 

What materials?

Provide an industry standard Time and Materials rate sheet and get documents signed prior to commencing work. 2.

If it's a first time deal, I want to just represent the lender and present their loan package protecting their investment.

This is my first post so in case bartering is not kosher, I'll be sure to adjust :)  I'm having a harder time estimating labor rates than material costs, which you can look up one at a time on lowes or home depot websites.Any advice for a first timer trying to build good estimates to check against contractor bids and also know if a property is worth bidding on before hauling a bunch of people through wasting all of our time.Any help is greatly appreciated and Happy New Year to you all.

I would be aware of how the weather may affect your property and take into consideration the ability of the materials and structures of your property to withstand natural occurrences.

Np. around 12 windows installed, $4-5k including material, Electric $7k, Plumbing was about $3k.