Rehab Playbook: Does Great PM Beat Finding Great Deals?

Everybody's focused on finding a good deal — and that's step one. But as margins get tighter and the market gets more challenging, the real difference-maker is what happens after you're under contract. In this episode, I sit down with our Senior Project Manager, Travis Masse, to break down what's actually driving rehab budgets in 2026 and how great project management can make or break a flip.

Here's what we dive into:

• Why material costs aren't coming back down, even after COVID and tariffs
• The biggest rehab budgeting mistakes new investors make (and why the lowest bid is often the most expensive one)
• Why contingency budgets exist — and why you should never spend them upfront
• The "Frankenstein house" problem: why buyers today want pieces of 20 different homes
• GC vs. self-managing: how to decide which one is right for your project
• The real pros, cons, and hidden markups of hiring a general contractor
• ELEVATION's hybrid model — how we buy fixtures and finishes direct to avoid markups
• Inside our "Big Four" of project management and the 107-step system we use to run every job
• Where we actually source materials (Floor & Decor, Wayfair, Amazon, and a few others)
• Rapid fire: Travis's favorite project, the most overrated upgrade, and the biggest surprise we've hit during demo
• What AI is going to change about rehab budgeting and project management in the next 5 years

If you've ever wondered why two contractors can quote wildly different prices for the "same" job, or how to keep a project from falling apart in the middle, this episode will change how you think about the construction side of flipping.

Episode Highlights:

0:00 – Introduction and Market Overview

1:02 – Market Challenges: Higher Interest Rates and Tight Margins

2:02 – Material Cost Increases and Tariffs Impact

5:18 – Common Mistakes New Investors Make

7:10 – Contingency Planning and Unexpected Costs

11:47 – GC vs. Self-Managed Projects

17:56 – Ideal Investor Profiles for Self-Managing

20:45 – Hybrid Approach to Material Purchasing

24:34 – The 107-Step Project Management System

36:55 – Rapid Fire: Best Projects, Overrated Upgrades & Demo Surprises

42:40 – The Future of AI in Project Management

🎉 Quick shoutout: Travis is celebrating his 5-year anniversary with ELEVATION next month — and he's about to go fully offline for a one-month sabbatical. Congrats, Travis, and enjoy the disconnect!

🚨 We're still hiring a real estate agent 🚨 If you're interested in joining our investor-focused team, DM us or email info@elevationinvest.com.

Thank you for tuning in to Raising the Flipping Bar. If you found value in this episode, don't forget to leave a review and share it with someone who's serious about real estate investing.

Keep fighting the good fight, and I'll catch you on the flip side.

Connect with Derek Marlin and ELEVATION Investment Properties:

Derek on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/derekmarlin

ELEVATION's website: https://elevationinvest.com/

ELEVATION on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevationinvest/

ELEVATION on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elevationinvestmentproperties

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