https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 28 May 2026 10:32:43 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-repairs-costs#post-533738 Tue, 29 Jan 2013 11:04:55 +0000 Modern Daisy 533738@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Foodnerd81: Yeah, I think people only talk about prices for the 'basic' things and leave out all the extra fee's, add-on's, etc. Everything related to buying a home ends up being more expensive than you originally anticipated! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-repairs-costs#post-533736 Tue, 29 Jan 2013 11:04:22 +0000 Cole 533736@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My realtor was pretty savvy with regards to those things but I know he also would have fought for us to be allowed to bring a contractor in too, I would ask your realtor to help you with it. He can probably recommend someone and help you get it set up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-repairs-costs#post-533717 Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:59:31 +0000 Foodnerd81 533717@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Modern Daisy: Ha-- that's funny, about adding 30%. I believe it though-- pretty much every single thing related to buying a place, I'm adding a big percent for 'things we haven't thought of yet'. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-repairs-costs#post-533700 Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:56:26 +0000 Modern Daisy 533700@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You can definitely pay a contractor for an estimate before making an offer, or if you're comfortable with waiting (like if you'd want the place regardless) then your home inspector can also give you a good estimate and most likely recommend contractors to do the job. </p> <p>One thing I've learned as far as home improvements is when asking around to see what other people paid, especially if it's anonymous (like online forums) people always say it was less than what they actually paid. So when you get an idea of what is normal, add 30-50% to that # just to get a more accurate estimate. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-repairs-costs#post-533673 Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:47:35 +0000 yoursilverlining 533673@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with TheHistoryofUs – I think lots of contractors would be willing to walk through a place you are thinking about buying an offer estimates. They may charge you for their time; or they may want your future business and do the walk-through for free. If your state licenses general contractors; you could start there and see who is licensed in your area and call a few and see what they say. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-repairs-costs#post-533663 Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:44:45 +0000 autumnlove 533663@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had contractors come out before we put an offer in. Our real estate agent asked the seller's agent if it was ok and they had a no problems with it as long as our agent was present. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-repairs-costs#post-533657 Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:43:40 +0000 Foodnerd81 533657@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Thehistoryofus: Yeah that's another thing I'm concerned about-- that there is a reason no one else has already done that reno and it's not possible or extremely difficult to do. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-repairs-costs#post-533635 Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:39:08 +0000 Chillybear 533635@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would just call a couple general contractors and see if they can give you a ball park estimate over the phone. you can average the estimates or just add a couple hundred for a cushion </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-repairs-costs#post-533631 Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:38:08 +0000 T.H.O.U. 533631@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Foodnerd81: I think its pretty normal for contractors to come out and give a quote on a house you don't own. Those definitely sound like big renos and might not even be able to be done (for reasons you may not see on the surface). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/home-repairs-costs#post-533612 Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:31:03 +0000 Foodnerd81 533612@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>There have been a bunch of home buying questions, but I don't think this one has been asked already (if it has please just point me!!)</p> <p>We looked at a condo we liked this weekend, but there were several, somewhat substantial, improvements we'd want to make. Most were somewhat easy to estimate-- redoing a bathroom, redoing floors, stuff like that. I feel comfortable with a rough estimate we could find online. </p> <p>But, some of the improvements are more intense-- like there is a low hanging duct going through one bedroom that we would want to reroute so it went through the ceiling. We don't really know where to start to figure out how much something like that would cost and we don't know any contractors personally who could help us out. I know most contractors don't want to come out and give you an estimate on a place you don't own, but we don't want to get locked into an offer without knowing what that kind of fix would entail. Any ideas on how you get around that kind of thing? </p>