There are a lot of factors that can affect the cost of a house flip including the condition and location of the property as well as the type of financing used to acquire the property.
However, as a house flipper myself in the midwest, I have figured out some general averages you can use when trying to determine how much it costs to flip a three-bedroom 1,500 square foot house.
On average it will usually cost between $25,000 and $50,000, beyond the purchase of the property, to flip a three-bedroom 1,500 square foot house. With the majority of the cost going to the rehab of the property and the remaining portion going to the carrying and selling costs of the flip.
If you’re looking for a more detailed answer though on how much it costs to flip a three-bedroom 1,500 square foot house keep reading.
As we provide a complete breakdown of all the costs associated with flipping a house.
Cost Breakdown to Flip a 3 Bedroom 1500 Square Foot House
The three main costs associated with any house flip beyond the purchase of the property are the rehab, carrying, and selling costs of the flip.
So to get a better idea of the average cost to flip a three-bedroom house, let’s take a look at each of these costs individually.
Rehab Cost
Rehab costs can vary greatly depending on the level of rehab the house requires and the cost of labor and materials.
Which can vary substantially depending on where the property is located and the type of materials and finishes used in the flip.
However, we can look to national averages on individual home repairs most commonly associated with a house flip, to get a general idea of how much the rehab might cost on a three-bedroom, 1,500 square foot house.
Individual Rehab Costs on a 3-Bedroom 1,500 Square Foot Flip
| Low Cost | High Cost | Average Cost | |
| Repace Old Roof | $5,000 | $10,000 | $7,000 |
| Install New HVAC | $4,500 | $8,000 | $6,000 |
| Install New Windows | $3,000 | $7,000 | $5,000 |
| Interior Paint | $2,000 | $5,000 | $3,000 |
| Kitchen Remodel | $5,000 | $15,000 | $8,000 |
| Bathroom Remodel | $4,000 | $10,000 | $6,000 |
| Install New Flooring | $6,000 | $9,000 | $7,000 |
| Minor Electrical Work | $1,000 | $3,000 | $2,000 |
| Minor Plumbing Work | $1,000 | $3,000 | $2,000 |
| New Fixtures | $1,000 | $5,000 | $1,500 |
| Update Landscaping | $500 | $2,500 | $1,000 |
It’s important to remember though that these numbers mentioned above are just averages to give you a general idea of how much the rehab might cost depending on what the home needs.
As no two house flips or their rehabs are ever exactly alike.
As some house flips will only require a light rehab, requiring just cosmetic fixes and updates such as paint and carpet.
In general though when I am budgeting for the rehab of an average size home in average condition. I will typically budget between $20,000 and $30,000 for the rehab of the property.
And that’s with us doing a lot of the grunt work such as demo, painting, and minor repair work.
Carrying Costs
A cost that many first-time flippers often forget to budget for is the cost of carrying the property while they are rehabbing the home and waiting for it to sell.
Typical carrying costs on a flip include financing costs, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and utility bills.
And carrying costs is another cost that can vary significantly depending on the type of financing used to acquire the property and where the property is located.
For example, if a flipper paid cash for a property and the home is located in an area with lower property taxes and homeowner insurance costs, they will spend far less to carry the home during the rehab and sale of the property.
Compared to a flipper that used a hard money loan or private money loan with a high-interest rate and located in an area of the country with high property taxes and homeowner insurance costs.
On average though as a flipper in the midwest, I usually spend anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 to carry the property, depending on the length of the flip and how much money we had to finance.
To find out how long it typically takes to flip a property, check out our article “How Long Does it Take to Flip a House? Complete Timeline“.
Cost to Sell the Flip
Another cost that beginner house flippers often fail to budget for is the cost to sell the flip, which can be quite substantial depending on how expensive the home is.
With the bulk of the cost going to the real estate agent’s commission.
As it’s not uncommon for a listing agent to charge 6 percent of the sales price, as their fee for listing the property which they then typically split with a buyer’s agent.
So if you’re selling a house that’s $150,000, the real estate commission alone could be $9,000, if you don’t negotiate the commission down.
Not to mention the cost to close the property with a title company and potential buyer closing costs assistance you might have to pay to get the deal done.
So when selling a house flip, I will typically budget around $8,000 to $12,000 for selling costs, when selling a three-bedroom 1,500 square foot house with a price of around $150,000.
Cost Per Square Foot to Flip a House
Another way you can estimate the cost of a house flip is to use the cost per square foot method.
Which simply requires you to take the square footage of the house by a predetermined cost per square feet number in order to estimate the potential cost of the house flip.
And while this technique should only be used as a rough estimate, as there are a lot of variables that can affect the cost of a house flip.
It is an effective tool to get a rough estimate of how much the house flip might cost.
And can be particularly handy when you’re checking out a potential flip and trying to decide if it’s worth your time in pursuing the house any further.
Full Rehab Cost Per Square Foot
The most common cost per square foot method used when evaluating a potential house flip is the rehab cost per square foot formula.
As the rehab cost of the flip will always be the biggest expense when flipping a house.
And while this number can vary greatly depending on your location and the amount of work the home needs.
The rehab cost per square foot number that I use for most of my flips is $20 per square foot.
However. if I feel like the home just needs a light update and is mainly a paint and carpet flip, I might lower the price per square foot on the rehab to $15 a square foot.
And on the opposite end of the spectrum, if I feel like the house is in really rough condition and will require a lot of repairs with big-ticket items like a roof or an HVAC unit.
I will use a $25 per square foot number, to adjust for the added cost of an extensive rehab.
So if you’re flipping a house that is 1,500 square feet and using the average rehab cost of $20 per square foot, the rehab square foot formula would look like this.
1,500 Square Feet x $20 = $30,000 Rehab Cost
Total Cost Per Square Foot to Flip a House
But as we saw from above the rehab costs of a flip are only part of the picture when it comes to expenses associated with a house flip.
As you also need to account for the carrying cost as well as the selling costs of the flip, to get a true picture of what a house flip will actually cost.
So to get a better idea of the total cost to flip a particular house based on square feet.
You need a cost per square foot number that accounts for all three major costs associated with flipping a house including rehab, carrying, and selling costs.
And the number I found that works best for me when trying to come up with a rough estimate of the total cost to flip a particular house is $30 per square foot.
And if we use this total cost per square foot number on a 1,500 square foot house it will look like this.
1,500 Square Feet x $30 = $45,000 Total Flip Cost
Altering the Formula
Remember though if you’ve deviated from the standard $20 per square foot rehab cost from above then you will need to adjust for this in the total cost formula as well.
By adding or subtracting the same dollar amount from the total cost per square foot number as you did from the rehab cost per square foot number.
So for example, if you were evaluating a potential flip in really poor condition that needs a lot of work and you added 5 dollars to the rehab cost per square foot formula.
Then you would need to do the same to the total cost per square foot number.
So the altered total cost per square foot formula would look like this.
1,500 Square Feet x $35 = $52,500 Total Flip Cost
Remember when using these cost-per-cost foot formulas though that they are only intended to provide a rough estimate on the cost of flipping a particular house.
As they will need to validated by obtaining real bids from actual contractors and subcontractors to determine the true cost of flipping the house.
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