Reno Unfinished Cellar
We are considering purchasing from our coop the raw cellar space directly underneath our apartment, then renovating and converting our apartment into a duplex. A few questions: * Has anyone tried to do this? Any advice or guidance? * Anyone have a sense of a sq/ft value for unfinshed cellar space? We have heard $75-$100…
We are considering purchasing from our coop the raw cellar space directly underneath our apartment, then renovating and converting our apartment into a duplex. A few questions:
* Has anyone tried to do this? Any advice or guidance?
* Anyone have a sense of a sq/ft value for unfinshed cellar space? We have heard $75-$100 per sq. ft. Does that make sense?
* What about a very, very general sense of the overall project cost? (Approx. 350 sq. ft., french drain, reno’ing the windows, half bathroom, sheet rock, lighting, floors, building stairs, etc.) It is presently very raw space — used for coop storage.
Just looking for general reactions/experiences for anyone who has tried or considered a similar project.
Thanks!
Are you sure your coop wants to lose its storage area and live through your renovation?
What it is worth is a function of what you decide you are willing to pay and what they will sell for, if they’ll sell.
Also matters: how big are the windows, or how big can you make them? How much light can you get in, and how many views out when standing or siitting? Is there a back yard? Can you buy rights to exclusive outdoor space that can be accessed from your cellar room?
When it comes to resale value, I didn’t like cellar rooms without a lot of light and access to exclusive outdoor space. They are the only ones I considered habitable. The only exceptions I can see were if I wanted something like a darkroom, a padded music rehearsal room, maybe a home gym. Everything else requires light and ambiance. Can your place provide that? Otherwise, it is just expensive storage space.
Also, I find spiral stairs horrible. Bigger ones take up more of your living space. So what you get below needs to be worth the sacrifice of space.
I have a neighbor who did this. Her space looks great but she says it was vastly more expensive and complicated than she expected and she would not do it over again. Then again it is a very nicely renovated space.
I think if you do this, you have to go into it realizing it can only ever be a rec room and I think resale value is not a reason to do it.
We thought about doing this in our old coop and decided that moving was easier than this kind of renovation. Don’t know your coop layout but you’ve got to factor in access from your apartment (and give up square feet above to do that) and access to cellar for the rest of the building.
And when we were looking to buy we certainly did not value those below ground rec rooms the same way as above ground square feet. Honestly I just looked at them as floods waiting to happen. I’d feel differently if I know who did the work of course.