Elevators necessary for Manhattan?
Does anybody have an opinion on the importance of having an elevator in a new gutt renovated high end Manhattan townhouse (single family) with 4 floors?
Does anybody have an opinion on the importance of having an elevator in a new gutt renovated high end Manhattan townhouse (single family) with 4 floors?
I live in the upper triplex with kids. My kids’ rooms are on the top floor. I only go up there about once a day. I thought I would be running up and down the stairs more then I do. Absent a disability, you may be wasting your money. Assuming that you don’t put the family room on the top floor, you will spend most of your time on the parlor. When you forget something on the top floor, ask a kid to get it.
If you can afford it, do it. It will open up the property to a lot bigger pool of buyers…namely people who are worried about mobility and independence as they age. My parents, for example, built a room onto their first floor that they expect to use as a bedroom once they can’t comfortably walk up/down stairs.
Hey – I’m just expressing my opinion. The OP did ask for opinions on the “importance” not the “market value” and I think it comes across as just plain lazy when you’re talking about a 1 family house, thus it rates pretty low on my “importance” scale.
The location is irrelevant. It could be Manhattan, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Ohio, etc.
The only exception I can think of would be Amsterdam, since they have those crazy steep staircases in the houses there.
There is always the option of roughing in the elevator shaft, and not installing the actual mechanicals. When it comes time for resale (I’m making the assumption that’s the underlying issue) the potential buyer has the option to install, and it eliminates the objection.
*throws down two pennies*
I saw one in a gut renovation a few weeks ago. In a small house it takes up a lot of room. Also I personally would be afraid of being stuck in an elevator by myself in an empty house, but that is just me.
I saw one in a gut renovation a few weeks ago. In a small house it takes up a lot of room. Also I personally would be afraid of being stuck in an elevator by myself in an empty house, but that is just me.
Anon 12:10 – don’t be facetious. The original poster probably meant that for a 2m brownstone in Brooklyn, the elevator wouldn’t add much to the value or be as important to the buyer. At 5m+ levels, it might be.
I would do it, if it’s within your budget. If your house will sell for 6m+, renovated it’s worth it.
Depends on your time frame. If you want to live there past the point when you might not be able to walk up and down stairs and you can afford it, then it is a good idea to do it now. It will also broaden the resale market for the house — while it will seem crazy to people who live in borwnstones already and think the stairs aren’t an issue — propsective crossover buyers (perhaps those who would only have considered a fancy apartment co-op/condo) are turned off by all those stairs.