When you Whole sale what is the best way to estimate the repair cost
The “BEST WAY” hands down, is to have a home inspector on your team AND a general contractor. Home Inspectors know better than anyone not only how to evaluate a property for needed repairs and improvements, but also what the property needs to be “fit” so the next inspector doesn’t come in on behalf of the next buyer, and find things that slow the deal down and cost the seller money. Time is money. Deals that move forward are more profitable than those that slow or die on the vine because of “surprises.”
However… in my area, (not in all areas), inspectors aren’t required to keep their fingers on the pulse of repair costs. That’s left up to contractors, hence the need for one of those on the team too.
Now… does that make you want to ask: What’s the CHEAPEST way to estimate repairs??? 
Hi and thanks for the reply, I’m just starting out in the REI biz and need all the help i can get. And now that you ask
What’s the CHEAPEST way to estimate repairs???
If contractors are “hungry” in your area, meaning that the overall market is flat or sideways and they’re not all making money hand over fist doing spec houses and high end customs, then the next best option is to forego the inspector and get a savvy contractor on your team who’s not afraid to get dirty and really look at a place. If you have crawl spaces where you live, that’s a good place to start. Needed repairs there are somewhat frequent and can be VERY costly. Roof is important. Electrical is important. Plumbing, too. The cosmetic stuff that any knucklehead can look at are usually the easiest to fix. Of course, if you’re wholesaling, you’re going to want to sell your properties to a builder anyway, and you can let her be the judge of what to do and how much repairs will cost. So, to answer your question, what’s the cheapest way to estimate repairs? How about this for an answer: Put your time into developing a spectacular buyer’s list full of hoardes of contractors all looking for that next great flipper, keep your earnest money to a minimum on your deals, and open the floodgates of communication with your contractor-buyers when they’re shopping your properties. Keep them thinking out loud, and start to learn what they hate to see, what scares them, what doesn’t. Do a bunch of estimate dry runs if you have the time by making an actual lumber list and getting online or going to Hom Depot and pricing the stuff out. Go to the contractor desk and ask them what format they need to do a take-off for you, and you can start just e-mailing or faxing a list to them. You’ll eventually learn how to estimate time (labor) and can factor that too. For roofs, write down the roof and roofing types, pitch, number of stories, penetrations (like chimneys, vent stacks, etc.) and learn how to calculate squares (every ten by ten area is one square) and you can call any roofing contractor and get a pretty good ballpark of what it would cost to replace. Try the same thing with painters, siders, etc. Where does education come from? One place: Action.
And remember, this is just ONE opinion. Get more.