Renovation of 2 family under 100K - possible?
We are considering buying a 2 family brick house in South Slope but we really can only do it if we can get the cost of renovating under 100K. I have a lot of questions – this would be our first foray into house ownership, coming from condo-land. * Both the owner apt and the…
We are considering buying a 2 family brick house in South Slope but we really can only do it if we can get the cost of renovating under 100K. I have a lot of questions – this would be our first foray into house ownership, coming from condo-land.
* Both the owner apt and the rental need kitchen and bathroom updating. In addition, we would like to add a full bath on the 2nd floor. Anyone willing to share the cheapest we could do these things while maintaining some sense of style?
* In order to accomodate our family, we will need to EITHER
– dig out a foot or so of the basement, finish, and use half as a bedroom OR
– add a 400sf room on top of the house (zoning allows for this).
From very preliminary research, it sounds like the basement might be cheaper (25K?) and the addition would probably cost 40K. Does this sound right?
* All those who have done this, is hiring an architect the right thing to do? We are full of ideas and years of design research, but will a contractor really be enough to help us figure out the best way to do things? Some say an architect is a waste of money but others say it might help save. Opinions? How much does an architect charge?
Finally, does it seem insane to think that we could do this amount of work for under 100K? Including any architect fees and whatever other unknown costs might appear? I have heard that we need to reserve 10% of the project cost for unforeseen problems, so that really reduces us to 90K. Is this unrealistic and we should not move forward?
Thank you so much to anyone with input!
There is no way you can do that all for $100k.
If you’re really just “updating” the kitchens those prices are ridiculous. Even building a bath cannot raise the price as high. The addition will probably be quite expensive.
I must be the greatst cheapskate or the savviest person ever. Let’s see, we 1) redid our existing bathroom, retile, changed 2 fixtures (no structural changes, but 2 new doors) for about 10-12k. 2) We installed two kitchens, including plumbing and gas lines (no structural changes). Both were IKEA cabinets, which are wonderful, ours has reasonably high-end appliances, the rental cheaper ones, for about 25-27k. 3) We built a steel/wood 10×10 deck with a spiral for 20k. Granted, work was done slowly with people we found as we went along.
Be happy to share the spreadsheet I kept at the time.
HI,
I’ve done a lot of renovations, in fact right now I’m doing two baths and kitchen, and I do 80% myself.
I couldn’t do it for what you’re budget is, just the materials with no labor would be more. And that doesn’t include architect and contractor.
Figure 200K for what you propose, and that is with modest,certainly not high end, fixtures. 175K if you scrounge, scrounge, scrounge.
Bruce Freilich, pres. MCSE
Jersey Management
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What’s on the basement floor now? How is the plumbing/sewer? If breaking up the floor is somewhat simple, and there are no foundational issues, and someone hasn’t already dug down a foot or so removing any play in your plan whatsoever, and the sewer is good and no reason to replace it..this won’t be so bad, and you may be able to wing it w/o an architect if your willing to take some BIG risks. Upgrading kitchens and baths can be done on the cheap, and the labor will be close whether using 10 dollar tiles or 2 dollar ones..so, keep the material list down, wing the basement, take some chances..and yes, I’d say it can be done. just think, most people did it this way before 311 was setup.
^^ If the kitchens were Ikea-ish, I mean.
The main difference here is not adding a bathroom. Does that make it possible or not really?
Could we dig out the basement and redo the kitchens and bathrooms for 100K? That might last us a couple of years.
You simply can’t do all this work for 100k.
You definitely should file this project with the Building Department.
It is smart to allocate 10% of your construction cost for contingencies (things you can’t know about until after demolition).
There is always something.
If you then figure a contractor will make overhead & profit, general conditions and have to pay for their insurance…not to mention architect and expeditor fees…100k doesn’t get you a lot unless, as one of the above posts mentions, you do a lot of work yourself.
You propose to add a bathroom, and to dig the cellar or add a partial story. This scope of work generally required drawings filed by an architect or engineer, as well as inspections.
You might be able to find someone to do it within your budget but i don’t know how much you will like their work. I do know one person that did a renovation in the price range you are looking at and i felt it was pretty terrible. But they seemed fairly happy with it, which is really all that is important. I guess the point is if you aren’t fussy and you can find someone honest to do it cheaply i suppose its possible. fwiw i wouldn’t do it b/c i would be very afraid of con artists who would take the bid and then midway start hitting me up for a lot more money.