$$$ Per Sq Ft Rehab Cost

RonInAZ profile photo

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for an overly simplistic Square feet times X to do a complete overhaul of a property.

This is a plain jane 3 bed 2 bath house with a small kitchen. Could cost the kitchen separate from the rest. I want to tear this thing to the studs its so ugly.

Looking for a materials price. $20 a sq foot?
[addsig]

Comments(14)

  • jgodfrey31st December, 2004

    down to the studs.well are you doing just sheet rock, paint, carpet, trim .Or are you doing a complete rewire and plumbing?How about ac/heater, water heater, windows, new doors (entry and bed/ bath/closets)Oh yeah insulation ?Give me more info and ill break it down to materials and labor if you www.want.I am a rehab invester / contractor.

  • RonInAZ31st December, 2004

    I suppose if the sheetrock is off...

    OK, let's rewire and plumb. 1500 SqFt single level 40 years old. Everything looks original or 20+ years old. HVAC is new. Roof is good.

    2005 may be a long year. Appreciate the help.

  • RonInAZ31st December, 2004

    JohnmIchael,

    thanks for your post. I knew I was trying to get too simple but wanted to put an offer out today. I'll work up a spreadsheet or something and post the results.
    [addsig]

  • NC_Yank1st January, 2005

    New construction typically has hard numbers and formulas.....rehabbing doesnt.

    Each rehab can present its own unique problems, often unseen problems.

    You can, as John has done, develop a category price on certain things with rehabbing but again depending on variables, things can change and often do.

    Eventually the more you rehab, the more you will become familar with costs in your area as well as recognizing potential problem areas.

    NC

  • InActive_Account1st January, 2005

    I have a house I want to buy, I will hold the piece of paper I have with the address written on it close to my computer screen.

    Please tell me how much money it will cost to rehab and how much money I will make.

  • Wingnut2nd January, 2005

    JohnMichael,

    I read your above reply to this topic, and found it to be a bit over priced.

    If you are spending 7k-12k on a bathroom remodel, you are wasting money, period. Then you state that a kitchen remodel would cost 8k and up. SInce I consider the kitchen to be a bigger selling point than a bathroom, over spending in other areas to me, seem to be a big waste. The other big Price I see is in the price you quoted on "installing ceramic tile" which to you, would run $11-$22 per square foot.?? No offense but I just had my living room tiled in the past 30 days and the total cost was $2380.00, and my living room is 560 square ft. By your calculations this should cost anywhere between $6160-$12,320.00

    I just think that the prices you quoted and "reality" are pretty far apart, to say the least.

  • InActive_Account2nd January, 2005

    Actually the "reality" you have discovered wingnut, is that construction costs vary widely from one part of the country to another. Which is one part of the reason coming up with a square foot price to rehab is impossible.

    The other broad swing in price could be based on the specific conditions of your project. Your experience with tiling and Johnmichaels tiling could vary widely because of this. Johnmichael was quoting I'm sure based on many projects, you are relating only to one specifically.

    A tiling project could swing by $15 a square foot easily. You could prefer a $1 a square foot tile, I could prefer a $8 a square foot tile. Your job might be laying over a perfect concrete slab which is the cheapest, mine could involve having to rip up an old layer of tile and underlayment and laying new underlayment. Maybe strengthing joists or adding another layer of sub-floor to get rid of floor flexing. Yours could be layed in a simple grid pattern, mine could be in a diagonal with a border.

    That is why it is impossible to answer Ron's question.

  • JohnMichael2nd January, 2005

    Quote:
    On 2005-01-02 00:10, Wingnut wrote:
    JohnMichael,

    I read your above reply to this topic, and found it to be a bit over priced.

    If you are spending 7k-12k on a bathroom remodel, you are wasting money, period. Then you state that a kitchen remodel would cost 8k and up. SInce I consider the kitchen to be a bigger selling point than a bathroom, over spending in other areas to me, seem to be a big waste. The other big Price I see is in the price you quoted on "installing ceramic tile" which to you, would run $11-$22 per square foot.?? No offense but I just had my living room tiled in the past 30 days and the total cost was $2380.00, and my living room is 560 square ft. By your calculations this should cost anywhere between $6160-$12,320.00

    I just think that the prices you quoted and "reality" are pretty far apart, to say the least.


    I think you missed the whole premise of the post, they are averages and they are averages nation wide. The simple fact is you can not put repairs in a box.

    Repair costs have to many variables as The-Rehabinator stated. It's all based on material cost in a certain local, labor cost, if one does it themselves or not and the list goes on. Most of the costs are based on a gutting and full rehab.

    It's no different with roofing work; a shingle over will be cheaper than a complete tear off. Just because it's an average does not mean it's the exact cost it could be more or it could be less. It's all-subjective.

    Your area may be more expensive or cheaper than another area.

    Just run a google search on average repair cost and you will get numbers all over the board. No need to kill the messenger!
    [addsig]

  • Young_Inno_Vative2nd January, 2005

    the information provided was helpful regardless of its non-precision accuracy...
    i can say for myself, atleast now, when i go into a house im thinkin of rehabbing, i have a 'ballpark' to swing numbers in...
    without it i'd be lost, so thanks john michael...
    it got printed and put in my binder
    ~Andrew

  • InActive_Account3rd January, 2005

    What is most frightening about this whole thing is someone trying to buy a house and rehab it and sell it to make money without a single clue about rehabbing.

    I guess it might just be me, but I can't think of any other business where somebody would go into it without a clue and expect to make money. Don't most people who open a restaurant have worked in some during their lives and gotten a background?

    How can somebody expect to rehab houses without any background? I just don't get it. Maybe I'm overly cautious, but wouldn't it make more sense to take the first steps of the process which would be finding deals, then wholesale them to other rehabbers. After doing a few of those wouldn't it be safer to then get to know some of these rehabbers and pick their brains, visit the property during rehab, watch the process, maybe partner with them on a house or two before striking out on your own? Even if you did one with a partner and didn't take much profit from the partner in return for learning the ropes, the experience would be invaluable I would think.

  • mikejaquish3rd January, 2005

    "I guess it might just be me, but I can't think of any other business where somebody would go into it without a clue and expect to make money."

    Rehabinator,
    I used to sell accounting services of a CPA.
    Let me tell you, it happens every day, in every business. Restaurants, retail, services, you name it.
    Franchise at least offer some support to first-timesrs, but at a cost.
    REI has been promoted to the extent it appeals to the easy money crowd..
    [addsig]

  • RonInAZ3rd January, 2005

    Hi everyone,

    Appreciate all the posts. My original post was about finding a rough materials estimate. My skill level is such that I could do most things except for a few mentioned in the carpet post tht really aren't worth the effort. Would take me a whole day to estimate this project properly which would mean I would be too late because the market is so hot. Great forum and appreciate the honesty.
    [addsig]

  • samedwin3rd January, 2005

    I've heard it said that there are different levels of rehab. If the whole house is in a similar condition (ie-outdated, or ie-totally destroyed) you can use some generic formulas to get a BALLPARK estimate. It's not the estimate I'd use to calculate if it's a deal or not, that you must do with the specifics like posted above. BUT, to answer your question there are rehabs taht cost $5 sq/ft to do. These would be your paint and carpet only type. The ones that are in good shape but need updated can cost about $10/sqft. The othe ones are the STRIP IT DOWN TO THE STUDS and start from scratch. Those can cost $20-30 sqft. depending on how the streucture is and the big jobs that need to be done (ie-new siding, new roof...)
    Hope this is what you were really asking?
    I don't know. I just did a rehab and it was a "Strip down to the studs and start from scratch" job. Did about 30% of the work myself, hired the rest. It cost $22/sqft. but I got the place for $10K... LOL
    Sam

  • davegar13th January, 2005

    in my exp on rehabbing block homes with an average sq footage of say 1200 sq feet material cost usually come in under 10,000 and the last few I have done have had contract for purchase the first week they were on the market,Ibuy just about all material from eithier lowes or home depot,materials for kitchens starting with cabinets including counter and sink and faucet is appr.100 dollars afoot,example L shaped kitchen 10 by 11 feet = 2100 bucks more then likely a little less,the going rate in florida for tile install varies from 2.25 per sq ft to 4 dollars a sq to lay plus 1.00 -3.00 a sq foot on the tile you select ,morter and grout another 100 bucks or so painting down here goes for about a 1.00 a sq foot pressure washed included,if you get one all around guy that can do it all you will save big money

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