Renovation costs on this site are so high
I recently am doing renovations to a 2 family rowhouse. I definitely did not gut the entire thing but did gut different areas. New electric and plumbing we installed and a deck off the parlor. We did 2 kitchens(relocated 1 kitchen) and 2.5 baths(relocated half bath). The rest of the rooms were basically in ok condition and just skimmed and painted. When I started I was hoping it would be 100K but I have spent way more than that with finishes. I would say the scope of work would likely dictate if you can fit that into your budget but 100K to do sizable renovation of a 2 family rowhouse is a pretty tight.
zhideng
in Brownstoner Renovation 10 years and 7 months ago
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Attention2detail | 10 years and 7 months ago
Or I could just be broke. I’m considering placing a bid on a 2 family row house and have been browsing through the site for average renovation cost. Man, I see $150 per square foot and quite often see $250-300 a sq. ft. Those numbers would put the renovation cost more than the purchase price. If these numbers are indeed for real then I totally got into the wrong line of work. Can I renovate on a budget of $100K? Just simple LG appliances nothing too grand? Oh and I won’t be living there and it will be fully rented
lmtuzyjcftvgonr | 10 years and 7 months ago
$250-$300 /sf is more of a higher end finish construction. It also depends, is it a gut renovation? Or selective renovation, where certain areas of the property is being salvaged, restored, etc. Renovating a 2 family row house for $100g is possible, but all depends on current conditions, and desired finishes. It can be doable, especially for an investment property. We have done renovations around that budget for clients, most of which were investment properties. MOSFIGUL AKTAR Architectural Designer Certified Construction Manager P: 917.495.6775 F: 718.676.6620 E: Info@AktarGroup.com W: www.aktargroup.com
resident2 | 10 years and 7 months ago
It costs far more than HGTV would lead you to believe! New York City costs a fortune to do anything compared to other areas, mostly due to all the bureaucracy as well as neighbors too quick to call 311 before they have even introduced themselves.. The costs of liability insurance, garbage disposal, parking and nuisance summonses that cannot be avoided because where are you supposed to park while loading and unloading? Sanitation summonses, even though the site is swept every day beginning & end they know that no one but the contractor is going to be paying for them. But a BIG part is all the liability insurance; work mans comp, disability and general insurance etc. But the bottom line is do not work with someone that just gives you a price per square foot. Plan ahead and you will save. Get a really good set of construction drawings for what you want to do. And I always say do not start until you have lived with the house for a year…..it will tell you to do different things but also gives you time to work out what you really want & need. Once you have your construction drawings; get exact quotes from contractors letting them know that you will be buying fixtures and finishes. And then add about 20% to the budget for contingencies. And yes, it can cost more than the acquisition price; depending on the location. Construction costs more in Manhattan than it does in Brooklyn or Queens, unless you are using a Manhattan contractor for a job in Brooklyn!. Use local it will always be cheaper and use a contractor that has been in business at least ten years working on older buildings if that is what you have. Buying a house that needs rehab is not the cheaper way to go; it just gives you the chance to design your own space. It is often better to buy a house in a good location with really ugly kitchens and baths or an awful façade, that you can change one at a time; or work on one floor at a time. One of the best deals I ever bought had a really ugly perma-stone façade with small windows and all semblance of the original house gone from the outside. Most buyers did not even look at the inside; which was great, under the linoleum were preserved parquet floors and the drop ceiling covering the plaster detail ceilings.
xchx | 10 years and 7 months ago
If you’re just trying to freshen it up (paint, floors, appliances) then 100k will be more than enough. When I was looking for a house, I paid a contractor to come look at it with me and give me estimates on the work I might want to have done. Some contractors will do that for free even.
rh | 10 years and 7 months ago
Jeez, I DIY and don’t file for everything and even I have trouble coming in under $100k! Depends if it’s cosmetic only (It never is) or if you have to replace mechanics. How’s the plumbing, electric, roof, windows? Don’t rip anything out and you won’t notice all the rotted wood that needs replacing behind the walls and under the floors. 😉
zagor | 10 years and 7 months ago
“If these numbers are indeed for real then I totally got into the wrong line of work.” How many contractors do you run into at open houses who are there to bid on the property itself?
brucef | 10 years and 7 months ago
Few people start out planning to file their jobs. Various events trigger filings (for instance gas company won’t provide service for gas boiler to replace oil). If you are upgrading finishes etc, you don’t need filing and all the soft costs and delays that ensue.
slamons | 10 years and 7 months ago
I have been doinga lot of my own GC, and the electric and plumbing will almost take about 50-60K and figure you really have 40k left over to do whatever else you need to do, i.e. architect if you get one, cabinets, appliances, and a bunch of random structure problems that creep up. If you don’t actually change layout, 100k is possible especially if you take your time and diy a lot of it (not labor, just GC type of work).
Attention2detail | 10 years and 7 months ago
Yes, HGTV does leave people wondering how they can do a full house and make it look nice for less than 100K. The highest I’ve seen was 160K and that reno on HGTV appeared high end and even included furniture. Maybe I get lucky and run into one of the producers at Lowes and they ask me about my home and they want to repair it. Well thanks for letting me know what can possibly happen as I may end up changing my bid. Not really changing layout. Making the parlor and top floor one duplex rental and garden level another. Seems that there are kitchens on each floor now. Shrugs.
cate | 10 years and 7 months ago
If you’re demoing one kitchen and upgrading the others, no moving of wet rooms or fixtures, seems like $100K should be doable.