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Rehab Cost Estimator

Real EstateMoving and Space Planning
Property
Line items
Contingency and fees

Share of the line items held back for surprises.

Total rehab budget —
Line items
—
Contingency reserve
—
Cost per sq ft
—
Biggest line item
—
Where the rehab budget goes
The chart appears with your result

A rehab budget is the sum of every repair line item, plus a contingency reserve and permit fees. For a 1,500 sq ft house with $33,000 of kitchen, bath, flooring and paint work, a 15% reserve adds $4,950 and permits $1,500, for a total of $39,450, or about $26.30 per square foot.

About this tool

House flippers, buy-and-hold landlords and owners planning a renovation all need one number before they commit: what the work will cost in total. This estimator takes your own figures for eight common scopes of work — kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, paint and drywall, roof, mechanical systems, exterior and anything else — and adds a contingency reserve as a share of those costs plus a flat amount for permits and fees. It reports the total, the reserve, the cost per square foot of finished area and which item dominates the budget, with a donut chart of the split. It does not price the work for you: the line items should come from contractor bids or your own takeoffs, because labour and material prices differ widely by region and by the condition of the house.

How to use it

  1. Enter the floor area

    Type the finished square footage so the tool can report cost per sq ft.

  2. Fill in the line items

    Enter a dollar amount for each scope you plan to do; leave the rest at zero.

  3. Set the contingency

    Drag the slider or type a percentage; 10% to 20% is typical for older houses.

  4. Add permits and fees

    Enter the flat cost of permits, inspections and dumpster fees, then read the total and the chart.

Examples

Kitchen, baths, floors and paint on 1,500 sq ft

Finished floor area
1500
Kitchen
15000
Bathrooms
8000
Flooring
6000
Paint and drywall
4000
Contingency
15
Permits and fees
1500

Result Total rehab budget: $39,450
Line items: $33,000
Contingency reserve: $4,950
Cost per sq ft: $26.30
Biggest line item: Kitchen (45.5% of line items)

  1. Line items = $15,000 + $8,000 + $6,000 + $4,000 = $33,000
  2. Contingency = $33,000 × 15% = $4,950
  3. Total = $33,000 + $4,950 + $1,500 permits = $39,450
  4. Per sq ft = $39,450 ÷ 1500 = $26.3

$33,000 of line items plus a 15% reserve of $4,950 and $1,500 in permits gives $39,450, about $26.30 per square foot.

New roof and mechanicals, 1,000 sq ft

Finished floor area
1000
Roof
12000
HVAC, plumbing, electrical
18000
Contingency
20
Permits and fees
2000

Result Total rehab budget: $38,000
Line items: $30,000
Contingency reserve: $6,000
Cost per sq ft: $38.00
Biggest line item: HVAC, plumbing, electrical (60% of line items)

  1. Line items = $12,000 + $18,000 = $30,000
  2. Contingency = $30,000 × 20% = $6,000
  3. Total = $30,000 + $6,000 + $2,000 permits = $38,000
  4. Per sq ft = $38,000 ÷ 1000 = $38

Older houses hide problems behind walls, so this budget carries a 20% reserve: $30,000 + $6,000 + $2,000 permits = $38,000.

How it is calculated

Total = S + S × c ÷ 100 + P; Cost per sq ft = Total ÷ A

S
Sum of all line items in dollars
c
Contingency as a percentage of the line items
P
Permits and other flat fees
A
Finished floor area in square feet

The contingency is applied only to the line items, not to permits, because fees are known in advance while hidden rot, wiring or plumbing problems scale with the amount of work. HUD's 203(k) rehabilitation programme requires a reserve of at least 10% of repair costs, and many lenders and investors use 15–20% for houses built before 1978. Cost per square foot lets you compare the job with other projects of different sizes.

Sources

When not to use it

  • Do not use it as a contractor quote; it only adds up the figures you supply.
  • It is not built for new construction or additions priced per square foot from scratch.
  • It does not model holding costs such as taxes, insurance and utilities during the work.

Common mistakes

  • Skipping the contingency because the house looks sound from the outside.
  • Counting permit fees inside a line item and again in the permits box.
  • Using total lot or gross area instead of finished floor area for cost per sq ft.
  • Pricing materials only and forgetting labour in each line item.

Frequently asked questions

How much contingency should a rehab budget carry?

HUD's 203(k) programme sets a floor of 10% of repair costs. Investors commonly use 10% for cosmetic jobs on newer houses and 15–20% when the house is older, has been vacant, or when walls, floors or the roof will be opened, since that is where unplanned work turns up.

Why is the contingency not applied to permits?

Permit and inspection fees are set by the local building department and are known before work starts. The reserve covers uncertainty in the physical work, so it is calculated on the line items only. If you expect fee surprises, add a margin to the permits figure itself.

What does cost per square foot tell me?

It normalises the budget so you can compare jobs of different sizes. A light cosmetic refresh often lands well under $30 per sq ft, while a full gut with new systems can pass $100. Compare your figure with recent jobs by the same contractor in your area rather than with national averages.

Where should the line-item numbers come from?

Ideally from written contractor bids for each scope. Before bids are in, walk the house with a checklist, measure rooms, and price materials at a local supplier, then add labour. Rough numbers are fine for screening a deal, but replace them with bids before you commit.

Are rehab costs deductible or added to the property's basis?

For a rental, the IRS separates repairs, which can be deducted in the year paid, from improvements, which are added to basis and depreciated; Publication 527 explains the test. For a home you live in, improvements raise your basis under Publication 523. A tax professional can classify specific items.

What does the chart show?

The donut splits the total into your line items, the contingency and permits, so you can see at a glance whether one scope dominates. When there are more than six parts, the smallest are merged into a single slice. The chart can be downloaded as PNG, SVG or CSV.