Should we fix this staircase before we sell?

Our staircase sags from the wall and feels weak under your feet. This to me seems like something that is going to turn off buyers or maybe result in a lower price for our place. Its in Carroll Gardens. Mid-90’s gut renovation 3 story 3 family brick house. How much might it cost to repair or replace this entire section of the stairs from 2nd floor to the first? Any contractor recommendations? [DSC_4613](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:5Odj:dsc_4613.jpg.jpg)

cthornto

in General Discussion 8 years and 5 months ago

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BobMarvin | 8 years and 5 months ago

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Not me–I’m just a volunteer moderator with no input into, or control over, the digital nuts and bolts of this forum. However, I personally like the fact that a new answer brings a question to the top. Otherwise there’s little chance that the OP, or anyone else, will see it.

slopefarm | 8 years and 5 months ago

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Paging Cate (and Bob Marvin): Any chance the new Brownstoner owners would consider restoring some chronological sanity to the forum? I sincerely doubt the OP of any forum post is still looking for answers two weeks after posting, and the prevalence of zombie forum posts pushes newer posts off the page sooner. There have been some pretty stale forum threads coming back to life as of late.

brooklynbasics | 8 years and 5 months ago

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I would repair it if all other things in your home are in decent to good shape. If the entire house is in poor shape then it shouldn’t matter that much since the target buyer would be somebody with deep pockets enough to do a full gut reno right away. I would have to see your home in person to give you a full analysis but that is my general opinion about these kinds of things. Although that said, if your staircase is unsafe and you have the funds to fix it, then that should happen right away. Otherwise not only do you obviously risk hurting somebody, or harming your home further, but you will indicate to buyers that you are not able to take care of urgent matters and that would definitely make buyers in the know (or their inspector or attorney or nosy and involved relative) think they would have to presume that other areas have been neglected and may need urgent attention and bid accordingly. If it isn’t safe and you don’t have funds to fix it then make sure you know what kind of a load is ok on it and make sure your agent know not to allow more people on it than is safe at one time. I am guessing it isn’t that bad though or else you would not be questioning whether to fix it. Good luck.

peaceout | 8 years and 5 months ago

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@HappyAtTimes Contact me, 718 541-9965. I am a realtor in Cobble Hill. Have lived Carroll Gardens for 25 years. I have extensive experience with these homes, what to do/not to do when listing your properyt. Bought & sold townhouses in the neighborhood, and can provide solid guidance. More than happy to have the conversation.

joeandceleste | 8 years and 5 months ago

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It depends on the condition.

xchx | 8 years and 5 months ago

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I wouldn’t repair it – I agree that whoever buys that house in Carroll Gardens is going to do a lot of work to it anyway and won’t be worried about little things.

Arkady | 8 years and 5 months ago

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The general condition sounds off-putting. If the stairs are in a common area that isn’t carefully decorated, I’d certainly get them reinforced before putting it on the market – ignore aesthetics but foster safety.

cthornto | 8 years and 5 months ago

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I appreciate these responses. I guess I need to speak to a realtor about who is the typical buyer for this kind of place.

eman134 | 8 years and 5 months ago

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dont waste your money…anyone buying a house in carroll gardens for 2-3 million is going to rip it apart to suit their taste…you are selling square footage and FAR

EJR | 8 years and 5 months ago

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If the house needs work and most any buyer will perform their own extensive renovations after purchasing, I would not bother spending time and money on this. It will be more economical for the new buyer to wrap the cost of the project into a larger renovation. If it’s the glaring problem in an otherwise move-in-ready house, then I would have it fixed.

housepoor | 8 years and 5 months ago

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I recently looked into the same problem. I called two reputable stair repair firms and got a single call back. That estimate was $20,000 to fix 3 flights of stairs. They would go in from the bottom and re-attach everything. It felt very expensive, but I don’t have a point of reference. If anyone else has had this done recently, I too would like to hear about their cost. I realize that the scope of work changes with each job and how busy the contractor is, but some benchmark would be useful.