If your contractor says "about 6 weeks" without looking at a scope of work, they're guessing. And their guess is probably wrong on the short side because that's how they get hired.
Here's what rehabs actually take based on what I've seen across hundreds of projects.
Timeline by Scope
Cosmetic Refresh (paint, flooring, fixtures, minor updates)
- Realistic: 2-4 weeks
- With a good crew: 2-3 weeks
- What goes wrong: Flooring back-orders, paint that needs extra coats on dark walls
Moderate Rehab (cosmetic + kitchen and bathroom remodel)
- Realistic: 6-8 weeks
- With a good crew: 5-7 weeks
- What goes wrong: Cabinet lead times, inspection delays, plumbing surprises behind walls
Full Gut (down to studs, new everything)
- Realistic: 10-14 weeks
- With a good crew: 8-12 weeks
- What goes wrong: Structural discoveries, permit delays, HVAC equipment availability, cascading inspection holds
The Timeline Killers
These delays hit every project. Plan for them:
1. Permit delays. Some municipalities take 2-3 weeks to approve permits. File the day you close.
2. Material lead times. Cabinets: 2-4 weeks. Custom windows: 4-6 weeks. Specialty tile: 2-3 weeks. Order long-lead items before demo starts.
3. Inspection scheduling. In busy markets, getting an inspector out takes 3-7 days. You can't close walls until rough-in inspections pass. Plan for this gap.
4. Subcontractor availability. Your plumber is booked. He can't come until next Thursday. That pushes electrical back. Which pushes drywall back. One sub's schedule delay cascades through the whole project.
5. Scope additions. Every change order adds time. Minimum half a week per significant addition.
The Cost of Being Slow
Every extra week on a flip costs money:
- Hard money interest: $400-$800/week on a typical loan
- Insurance: $50-$100/week
- Utilities: $50-$75/week
- Property taxes: $100-$200/week
- Opportunity cost: Impossible to calculate but very real
A two-month delay on holding costs alone runs $4,000-$10,000. That's money straight off your bottom line.
How Weekly Draws Keep Timelines Honest
Weekly draws create natural schedule pressure. The contractor's weekly income depends on weekly progress. Skip a week, lose a week's pay. It's built-in motivation.
Weekly draws also surface timeline problems fast. If Week 3's deliverables didn't get completed, you know by Friday. Not by Week 6 when the project is supposed to be done but clearly isn't.
At Seller's Little Helpers, every project has a weekly milestone schedule that maps to the draw schedule. You can see if you're on track, ahead, or behind at any point during the project.
Setting Realistic Expectations
Before work starts, get a written timeline with weekly milestones. Not "about 8 weeks." A week-by-week plan:
- Week 1: Demo
- Week 2: Rough plumbing and electrical
- Week 3: Framing, HVAC, inspections
- Week 4: Insulation and drywall
- And so on.
Hold the contractor to this timeline through the weekly draw process. If Week 3 deliverables aren't done by Friday, the draw reflects that.