Brownstone update cost
We are in the process of buying a four story four family brownstone in bedstuy. We put an offer on the house, which was accepted, but we are not in contract yet. We knew the elictrica system needed to be updated and had planned 25k for that. We also knew the kitchens would need to…
We are in the process of buying a four story four family brownstone in bedstuy. We put an offer on the house, which was accepted, but we are not in contract yet. We knew the elictrica system needed to be updated and had planned 25k for that. We also knew the kitchens would need to be updated and had planned for that money also. We are using a 203k loan to get the renovation funds. We had an inspection yesterday and found that there were substantially more repairs than we had thought. Specifically the plumbing is in severe need of an update, there is no hot water heater, the boiler will need to be replaced, asbestos removed, all the windows need to be replaced. I have a couple of questions:
1. Even though the contracts are drawn up (not signed), is it okay to come back and renegotiate the price. The house has been on the market for awhile and the imspector thought there had been at least 3 previous inspection.
2. Does anyone have any off the cuff idea how much this would cost. I think we would do things like sheetrocking, labor for the kitchen updates, etc. But the bigger stuff listed above is definitely out of my skill level. We need to be able to come back with a specic number, but electricians an plumbers are (understandibly) hesitant to
do estimates and are trying to charge us for an estimate. I am hesitant to sink any more money into a deal that may very well go nowhere.
Touchy, touchy. Let me get this straight. Someone who trolls a real estate blog message board to harp on grammer offers a snarky comment about being resposible for the lives of tenents (not being a resposible landlord mind you). One might be a bit skeptical as to the usefulness of that persons comments, might one not. Point taken…words have meanings. Part of asking questions on this board is to get advice so one does not become a clichéd NYC landlord. Or do I sense some class resentment.
Touchy, touchy. Let me get this straight. Someone who trolls a real estate blog message board to harp on grammer offers a snarky comment about being resposible for the lives of tenents (not being a resposible landlord mind you). One might be a bit skeptical as to the usefulness of that persons comments, might one not. Point taken…words have meanings. Part of asking questions on this board is to get advice so one does not become a clichéd NYC landlord. Or do I sense some class resentment.
If you don’t know your responsibilities as a landlord, you don’t know squat about purchasing a 4-family (which, btw, your post already established). Hope your mother has some milk left for you. You’ll be crying in it and crying for it.
Do I have to breastfeed also, because I don’t think I can do that.
I wasn’t aware that renting a place conferred parental resposibilities.
Thanks for the penny poker, Serp. Even though a derivation of jury-rig (from the nautical term jury mast), I opted for “jerry” to contrast with “gerrymander.”
As to OP, what sage advice can be offered to those seeking off-the-cuff estimates while contemplating responsibility for the lives of four families at 5% down?
You do need to get an estimate from someone who is actually capable of doing the work. We can all sit here and say “oh, that’s a $25K job” which is kind of useful to you, but until you find the plumber who can say “yeah, I could fix this for $25K” you don’t have much.
PS. strunkandwhite, I’ll meet your distinction between gerrymandering and jury-rigging and raise you a “jerry-rig” v. “jury-rig”
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jury-rig
If you’re doing the electrical and plumbing and the plumbing is inside the walls, doesn’t that imply a gut renovation? Which is more expensive but also something where you do it all at once? I don’t know.
Anyway, OP, are you also aware of the additional red tape with 203K loans? The administrators need to send their own contractors out to do estimates of repair costs after you are in contract, the loan will take longer than normal to close (I think it was at least 45 days), and I believe you have to use 203K loan approved contractors. That last bit scared me. Would the list be sufficiently long, would they be good, would they be too expensive? If you google 203K it sounds like a lot of people have used them for scams — but of course not homeowners such as yourself.
I’m an architect and I’ve worked on a number of brownstone renovations. Some of the contractors that I’ve worked with would be happy, especially now, to walk through the house with you and me, and provide a rough estimate of the work for no charge if they felt it would give them a better chance of getting to do the renovation work.
Jim Hill
Urban Pioneering Architecture