Gut Reno Estimate?
I’m looking to buy a 2 family brick from the early 1900. i was told it will need a TOTAL GUT RENOVATIONS. My broker said it will cost me $100K. The engineer that did the inspection said it would cost at least $250K. A contractor that came for estimate $80K. This prices are so different….
I’m looking to buy a 2 family brick from the early 1900. i was told it will need a TOTAL GUT RENOVATIONS. My broker said it will cost me $100K. The engineer that did the inspection said it would cost at least $250K. A contractor that came for estimate $80K.
This prices are so different. Who is right? Help!!
I have been through this when I bought a 4 story B’stone in the heart of Bed Stuy. It cost me $220K and that was in 2005. The entire 4 floors plus the basement was completely redone. I used Kohler,GE Profile and granite. The appliances were bought by me and the contractors installed it. The bathroom was completely furnished with Kohler by the contractor.
The contractor that did my ‘gut reno’ came highly recommended through a friend that just got her’s done. I think referrals and personal experiences counts for a lot. So, if you need a good, reliable and reasonable contractor – I can recommend him to you and he will be glad to give you an estimate.
I second MR’s advice. I know two couples who lived with kids in renovation (step by step, so even 3 years later the houses are not done), and they regretted it every day. Factor in the cost of continuing to rent for six months to one year, the carry on the mortgage, and extra cost of insurance during the reno to get the total cost. Three years ago, we withdrew an offer on a house that was not a gut but needed substantial renovations after we factored in these costs.
I had always heard the rule fo thumb for actual renovation costs was about $100k per floor, which works out to $125/sq ft. $200/sq ft sounds a tad high, but obviously the sky’s the limit on fixtures and finishings.
I second JimHill’s recommendation that you find out what “gut reno” means to the people you are getting advice from. A lot of the places I’ve seen advertised as such need no such thing. They need a ton of work, but bare to the studs gut? No. If you are interested in an authentic historic home, and original materials can be saved, I recommend you find an architect and/or contractor who is sensitive to those issues. Fighting with someone who doesn’t care about historic detail, or recycling usable materials is not worth the cheaper price you may pay.
I strongly advise against having children live anywhere that work remotely like this is being done. There will be lead dust everywhere and it cannot be contained while work goes on.
They are both right.
Your contractor says he’s charging you $80k + added charges at the end (always happens) prob $100k on labor.
Now add another $100-120k on materials= Walla!!! $220-240k
Now add the mortgage carrying cost while you live somewhere else for six months and you got a realistic price.
Good Luck…
We’ve looked at a bunch of houses with architects/contractors and have never gotten an estimate of less than 150-200K for a major renovation in a 3-story house (which I’m assuming this must be, at least), and sometimes estimates have gone up to 500K. There is a huge amount of variability depending on size, condition, your taste, finishes, etc. $100 psf seems to be a pretty bare bones figure, but it can be more if you want nicer finishes. That said, most of our quotes came pre-crash, and I’ve also been told that contractors/architects are “hungrier” now and given the overall economy, prices are more competitive for renovation. But you also don’t want to go with the cheapest quote – sometimes, that might be more expensive in other ways.
A gut renovation is a major undertaking and you must be a very informed customer – I advise you to do a lot more research before making this purchase, since you don’t want to get in over your head, and you may want to reconsider what you can afford in terms of purchase price given the likely costs of renovation.
ps – i know i’m not alone b/c my friend did her 4 story, 2 years ago for 150k. eletrical, pluming, 2 tenant apts, owner duplex, with custom cabinets & high end finishes also. hers was more of a gut than mine.
these renovation posts always surprise me. my house was a semi-gut. one floor all new floors, walls, ceiling. all new electrial & plumbing through out. parlor, new floors, walls, bath & kitchen. top floor new floors, bath, walk in closet. total of 3 new baths (one all marble) & 2 kitchens. this was a good amount of work and we did not live there while it was being done. no central heat or ac installed. i want to say we paid $100k-$125k maybe? it’s been awhile so don’t remember exactly how much everything cost. and no we do not have ikea anything! we have custom cabinets & high grade floor, commercial grade appliances (viking, sub zero). i really wonder who these contractors are charging these outrageous prices are. i have a quality home and no regrets. this was 4 years ago.
Antidope, I agree that $100k per floor is low.
Perhaps I was not specific enough in my post. I was more looking at those posts that said a little higher than that: eman saying $250k, denton and daveinbedstuy at $150-$200 per foot, and PHfamily saying exactly what you said that $100k wouldn’t be enough, more like $250k.
These are people whose posts I’ve seen over and over again and have proven to be reliable. Not to neglect 60designers(my respected competition), cmu and slopefarm, all of whom are always on target with their information as well.
I’d also encourage the original poster to determine exactly what is meant by a gut reno. Do you really need to take everything out? Significant savings can be achieved through intelligent use of existing conditions. As a LEED AP, I often try to save as much of the existing building as possible, selectively removing only what is necessary. In this way, we’ve been able to reduce the need for new materials and the labor to install them, as well as the labor to remove and dispose of them to begin with, resulting in almost-gut renovation costs much closer to that $100 per foot mark.