Renovation cost estimate

I’m considering submitting an offer on a property in Brooklyn in need of extensive renovation (little, if any, structural). I’d like to get an informed estimate of the cost. Am willing to pay a reasonable fee for this. Any architects or GC’s interested? There is a full-price offer out on this unit, so I must act soon.

Guest User | 7 years and 8 months ago

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robyim1 | 7 years and 8 months ago

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Yes I agree with 125k-200k per floor. That’s gutting it new electrical, plumbing, minor structural, new floors, heating and hvac, new kitchens and bath and new windows and doors. Major structural cost goes up. Better finishings cost goes up. If you’re restoring prepare to sell some organs. And dealing with the good contractors so busy they almost don’t care if you accept their sky high bids or not.

CarmenR | 7 years and 8 months ago

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If the house needs extensive renovations, it’s almost 100% that some of the work will be structural. There’s no way to know until the walls are opened up, and then it’s too late to ignore it…

Guest User | 7 years and 8 months ago

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125k to 200k per floor fits with my recent experience. Basically the numbers are eye-watering. I’m pretty experienced with property and can do a lot of the renovation work myself. When I first started to hear these kind of crazy numbers I brushed them off thinking that’s just what people who didn’t know what they were doing paid. How deluded I was.

stuyheights | 7 years and 8 months ago

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Couldn’t agree more. If you do not have any experience renovating a property, you are in for a long road. If you are renovating a brownstone, it will cost at least 125k per floor for chepo finishes. Sky is the limit… If you plan on restoring the property, cost can get crazy.

resident2 | 7 years and 8 months ago

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If you are seriously considering buying a house/property that needs extensive work after looking at houses in the areas that you would consider living in or investing in, you then need to look for a contractor that does the the quality/style renovations that you are thinking you want. You should also be looking for a Real Estate attorney that specializes in Houses/buildings as apposed to co-ops or condos or heaven forbid that did you last divorce!
It takes a whole team to be ready to submit an offer and get it accepted. Contractors are not all the same, just like restaurants are not all the same. Some might consider a good meal is Olive Garden others want nothing to do with national brands…. so costs, estimates are all very subjective and cannot seriously be done with a sprint to a bidding war!
Have you even considered how much it costs to finance a renovation? Most of Brooklyn is out of the 203K limits and will not be considered as part of an offer etc.
So if you are serious about buying a fixer upper…. look for a contractor that you like the quality/style of their work and that you can get along with… it is a relatively long term relationship. Long before you zero on the house of your dreams…. or nightmares.
A random contractor willing to take your money now for an estimate for you to submit an offer will be the prelude to a nightmare.