Prospective renovation estimates?

Thanks, Slopefarm! It’s been quite the journey but glad that we’re basically done. Still got some CoO stuff to deal with but the actual work has been completed for a few months.

CarmenR

in General Discussion 8 years and 2 months ago

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Guest User | 8 years and 2 months ago

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We’re considering making an offer on a charming but old and somewhat worn property in Park Slope. To make a prudent bid, we’d like to have a decent estimate of the cost of the work we envision doing. We’re looking for a contractor who would view the property with us and draw up that estimate. Are there GC’s who offer this kind of service by the hour or by the property, or otherwise?

EJR | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Any reputable contractor will provide a free estimate, it’s a cost of their doing business. You should not need to pay anyone for this service. FWIW, I would recommend my contractor, Edmund Topacio of Topaz Remodelers: https://www.facebook.com/TOPAZ-REMODELERS-131868386852057/

Guest User | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Thanks for that. I understand this is a general way of doing business when you’re at least contemplating using that particular contractor. I’m wondering if they’re willing when you’re at such a preliminary stage, not even having made a bid on the property. I could easily see why they might not.

Guest User | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Thanks for that. I understand this is a general way of doing business when you’re at least contemplating using that particular contractor. I’m wondering if they’re willing when you’re at such a preliminary stage, not even having made a bid on the property. I could easily see why they might not.

Guest User | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Thanks for that. I understand this is a general way of doing business when you’re at least contemplating using that particular contractor. I’m wondering if they’re willing when you’re at such a preliminary stage, not even having made a bid on the property. I could easily see why they might not.

EJR | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Whether it’s the property they look at or another property in Brooklyn, chances are you’ll need some work done at some point (or know someone who will). It’s always good for a contractor to expand his client base -It’s really just an hour or so of a contractor’s time, for a potentially large payday.

NeoGrec | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Just bear in mind that the price difference between a house that needs major work and one in perfect condition is never as great as the cost of the reno. You will always pay a premium. Sorry if that sounds obvious but many buyers employ unrealistic math in these situations.

EJR | 8 years and 2 months ago

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@NeoGrec – that is certainly true, but it is also true that the renovation will likely cost more than an uninitiated buyer expects.

NeoGrec | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Indeed. Which just compounds the problem.

c_w | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Andrew, please feel free to contact for a consultation for feasibility and budget including design, the filing and approval process as well as the construction itself. At this stage, it’s about evaluating the condition of the building and setting a per square foot cost for construction plus soft costs.

As NeoGrec has pointed out, even at this preliminary stage it’s best not to trivialize the work required for a renovation. In the long run, that would be a disservice to all parties involved. Ironically this accountability is sometimes lacking when buying hastily built new developments.

My contact info. is in the Brownstoner directory:

http://www.brownstoner.com/services/general-contractor-nyc/d53a493c9f2cbc/construct-workshop-red-hook-brooklyn-ny-11231/

xchx | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Lots of contractors will do this for free on the hopes of winning your business.

krmndaniel3 | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Before consulting with a GC, I strongly suggest preparing a brief (1-pager ?) “Mission Statement”, for a given property. While not extensive, such will help you a) consistently articulate your vision, b) restrict all discussions to “in scope/in budget” issues, and c) enable you to task GC with providing you with all-important work prioritization / sequencing feedback. For historic homes in particular, this very doable approach forces unforeseen issues (structural repair, electrical capacity, etc) early, and consistently into the conversation. A worthwhile exercise that quality GCs (and your budget) will welcome.

notfromny | 8 years and 2 months ago

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I just went through the same thing on a building we were considering buying. No one, contractor or architect, would do a look-see with me until we were actually in contract (I spoke with ~8 different types of firms/services). However, everyone was happy to discuss various price points and many were very generous with their time with me on the phone. Too many variables for us and we ultimately decided against pursuing the property. But here’s what I learned, from very different reputable sources: all of whom independently gave me numbers that the average price for renovation according to their internal metrics from 2016 was ~$350/sq ft. If you forego an architect you might be able to come in much lower than that, and there are some ways to be efficient, but ultimately I think you have to plan on at least $300 to be realistic, and probably more, unless you can do some of the job yourself… I had a contractor tell me that $150/sq ft was probably “too high” but everyone who used actual numbers from jobs they’d worked on was quoting in about the same range.

KSR | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Before signing a contract we paid a contractor an hourly fee to walk through and give us a rough estimate of what the necessary work would cost. It was helpful, but after moving in there was a lot of realizing “If we’re going to do X, it makes sense to do Y at the same time”. If it’s an old house the scope creep can be almost endless.

resident2 | 8 years and 2 months ago

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It is probably best to find a contractor that does Home Inspections. There are a few. That way he/she can focus on if the plumbing, wiring, structural condition etc. Does it really really need gutting or do you just want a cosmetic renovation? etc. They can also give you a very rough estimate of what you will need in both time & money to get it done.
To ask a contractor that you have no relationship with for an estimate without knowing what budget or standard of renovations the company does is a waste of everyone’s time. It will mostly depend on the condition of the current structure, mechanics etc which sometimes are not as bad as the housekeeping may indicate.
Some of my best buys have been filthy messes.

monaco | 8 years and 2 months ago

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I just did a gut renovation of an old brownstone in park slope and found this article to be very helpful and fairly on point wrt pricing.

http://www.brownstoner.com/interiors-renovation/renovation-costs-kitchen-bathroom-brooklyn-house/

stuyheights | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Firstslope, what kind of finishes and how many square feet? What did the total price per square foot work out to be?

CarmenR | 8 years and 2 months ago

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The architect that we ultimately ended up using actually came with us to see our property before we had an accepted bid, but I think that’s somewhat unusual. After we closed, we got 6 bids from contractors, all of whom came and walked through the house multiple times and most of whom went through a few rounds of bid revisions with us., which I would consider to be typical.

Rather than use the contractor’s estimate to inform your bid, you should plan to use your inspection report as a negotiating tactic after your offer is accepted. Your contract should have a stipulation for the inspection so you can walk if anything gigantic is exposed. With that said, we had a great inspector but he couldn’t possibly have known the issues we were going to run into once the walls were opened up… with an old house, you just have to plan for basically everything needed to be replaced, and then be happy if it doesn’t!

Happy to talk further, we just finished our project a few months ago actually. greenwoodframed at gmail dot com

slopefarm | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Great news, Carmen, I didn;t realize you were done. Congrats!!