How to Estimate Rehab Costs on Your Phone

Hey it’s Dave with FlipperForce and I got our Flipper Force web application open on my iPhone here and I’m just going to show you how you can use our rehab estimator on your phone to quickly create estimates for your rehab projects.while you are out walking through a property.

So this may look like a native app that you install on your phone, but it’s actually just our web app which you can open on your web browser and it is built to be mobile responsive so you can open it on any device, including your desktop, laptop, tablet or even your mobile phone!

So our Estimator tool comes with 3 different estimate starter templates that come pre-loaded with a database of common repair categories & prices.  We currently loaded in our rehab estimate template which for estimating gut rehabs but we also have templates for new construction.

You’ll notice the estimate is organized by Exterior Work, Interior Work MEP (mechanical, electrical & plumbing) and miscellaneous other items.

In each of those areas we have a pre-built list of categories, so Exterior work has roofing, siding ,exterior painting, decks, doors & windows, stuff like that.

On this property we are doing a light exterior remodel so the property just needs painting, a new exterior door, new landscaping & a new mailbox & address #s.

Simply input your quantities into the quantity column and if you need to adjust your pricing as needed for your specific market & grade of materials you are using on your project.  

For paint we are just going to use the square footage of the property & a quick rule of thumb of about $2/sf.

We are going to install a new exterior entry door with a new lock set

We are also going to just plug in about $500 for landscaping which should cover some new mulch beds and a few new shrubs and flowers.

And then finally plug in a new mailbox & address #s on the front of the house.

Okay, so now we’ve got the Exterior repairs estimated at around $4,000 here.

Let’s move on to the Interior work.

The interiors section includes interior works such as demolition, framing/drywall, cabinetry, doors, woodwork, painting & floor finishes.

On this property we are going to need to do a little demolition and cleanup.  I usually just estimate demolition by the hour & an hourly rate, so I’m gonna estimate 3 guys can tear the space out in 2 days which is 48 hours total * $20/hour

The property is also going to get a new kitchen & a new bathrooms.  We have some packaged options which allow you to quickly just put a lump sum budget in your estimate for the kitchen & bathrooms. 

On average, we tend to spend about $12 grand on our kitchen renovations for labor and the cabinetry, countertops, & appliances, but you can definitely spend more or less than that.

For bathrooms, on average we spend around $4k for a basic full bathroom remodel where we are replacing the vanity, flooring & plumbing fixtures.

& we have 2 bathrooms so we are going to enter 2 as the quantity, so we have $8 grand total budgeted for the bathrooms.

Otherwise, we will be painting the interior of the property, and again we are going to use a rule of thumb of about $2.50 per sf of the property square footage.

Installing new carpet in the bedrooms, which is about 500sf

& then refinishing the hardwood floors on the main level of 1,000sf

For MEP work, our plumbing is basically included in our kitchen & bathroom budgets we added in our interior section.

But we do need to add in some money in hvac for adding a new thermostat & replacing the grilles & diffusers.

& then in Electrical we are going to be adding in new ceiling fans in the bedrooms & a few new dome light fixtures throughout the property.

In the other section, we are going to plug in some costs for a dumpster rental of a 40 yard dumpster.

For adders, we are going to add a contingency of 10% to cover any unforeseen issues that we might encounter that could blow our budget & then tack on 7% for material tax which our local government charges on materials when we buy materials from Lowes or Home Depot.

And that’s it, we have created a detailed estimate using our Repair Estimator tool in a little over 5 minutes

We have approximately $4,000 estimated for the exterior work, another $29,000 in our interiors about $2 grand in MEP & other work and another $4700 that we’ve included in our estimate for contingency and taxes for a total of $39,459.

If you have any questions about our repair estimator tool please shoot us a message in chat