Buying a fixer-upper house in Central Indiana? How to price a rehab before you call anyone

If you’re buying a fixer-upper near Indianapolis, you need to price the rehab before you call anyone. If not, you get one scary number: $50K. But if you do, you know the price before the contractor names one.

The buyer who knows the line items wins, because they already know the price before the contractor names one. These are the 2026 ranges my clients and I use for Indy metro properties.

1. The high-end rule. Every number is a range. Use the top of it. If the deal works at the high end, it works. If it only works at the low end, it was never a deal.

2. The 4/20/3 method. Flooring and paint are the highest-impact, lowest-cost items in an Indiana rehab. Start there. LVP flooring runs $4 per sqft: $2 materials, $2 labor. Hardwoods around $20 per sqft. Paint at $3 per sqft.

My 4/20/3 Method:

• LVP flooring: $4 per sqft ($2 materials, $2 labor)
• Hardwoods: $20 per sqft
• Paint: $3 per sqft

(How I help clients estimate a repair cost during a showing)

A 2,000 sqft house is $16K for every foot of wall and every inch of floor to be new LVP. NOT $50K. Those two line items move a house from grandma horrid to nouveau riche faster than anything else you can do.

3. The loaded shotgun. Nobody prices cabinets correctly. Kitchen cabinets run $260 to $500 per linear foot installed. A 20-foot run is $5,200 to $10,000, and that’s before countertops. Granite adds $56 to $100 per sqft.

Cabinets transform a space when you handle them right. Handled wrong, they blow your head off.

4. Your number. Walk the house with a list and write a quantity next to every line you see. Use the high end. If the deal still works, it’s worth the phone calls.

You don’t need a house picked out or a plan. If you’re wondering what may or may not be possible for you, email me at nlamkin@c21scheetz.com and let’s talk it through.

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