If you’re thinking about rehabbing properties for a living, you need to know how to accurately estimate repair costs – otherwise, you could end up spending a bunch of money and not getting it back at the closing table. This is particularly important if you’re getting a hard money loan to buy a property. How to Estimate the Cost of Repairs You’ll want to estimate the possible cost of repairs on a house before you actually make an offer to protect yourself from a bad deal. Some investors have a $20 per square foot” rule that says most – but