renovation costs for the rest of us

I’m looking at some very modest houses in Flatbush, Midwood, and Kensington. These are houses with no details, little curb appeal, generally in poor condition. I’d like to estimate costs for renovations. I know that this topic has been covered many times here on the forum, but I feel like crucial information is always lost. We are not restoring a landmarked brownstone. We don’t need solid wood cabinets, or central air, or “millwork”. We would probably be happy, for the next 20 years or so, with what some people here call “rental grade” renovations. Houses in Flatbush are about 250$ per sq ft. Spending $200k on a renovation seems a bit extreme. So with that in mind, what are gut renovation costs for a 1400 sq ft wood frame single family row house, with 1 bathroom and 1 kitchen? How about a 2 family row house, 2000 sq ft, 2 baths and 2 kitchens? What about just replacing the kitchen and bath, but keeping walls intact? Assume Ikea for everything. How much does a low-end flipper spend on one of those houses in BedStuy that everyone on here sneers at? Are there any online tools that itemize this type of thing, including labor costs in NYC? I’m talking about something where one could enter the sq footage, the level of quality desired, and the condition of the house, and get a very rough estimate. Or even better, has anyone here done one of these very basic renovations and care to share the itemized costs here?

chemosphere

in Renovation 10 years and 11 months ago

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chemosphere | 10 years and 11 months ago

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Thank you, this is very helpful information. So essentially, in a neighborhood like Flatbush, where sales are 200-250$ per sq ft, even for properties in good condition, it is impossible to do a gut renovation legally in any way that makes financial sense. A house needing work might be 300k but after a 200k renovation it is only worth 450k. Now I can see why the folks in a neighborhood like this suffer until it is “discovered” a la Bed-Stuy.

anonCH | 10 years and 11 months ago

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Hi XchX – can you say who can paint for a few thousand? I need a rec!

xchx | 10 years and 11 months ago

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Also – it doesn’t sound like you know very much about this, which means everyone will be taking advantage of you. Better to find a house in good condition that you can fix up at your speed as you figure things out.

xchx | 10 years and 11 months ago

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If you’re trying to save money, don’t “gut renovate” it. Minimum you will spend on kitchen is like $5k and maybe $3k per bathroom. You can get the whole house painted for a few thousand dollars. Refinishing the floors is $3 per square foot. (new floors aren’t that much more) Make sure the electrical and plumbing and heat are good and you don’t have to spend too much.

Lurker | 10 years and 11 months ago

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You can’t compete with a low-end flipper. If you do work legally (not a given) there’s just lots of costs that add up, especially with a gut. Count on minimum $150-200 a square foot for a gut, even home depot level finishes. Probably more, as there’s all kinds of costs you never consider.

majorhints | 10 years and 11 months ago

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Kind of like the housing price tools you see online none of them ever really work. With so many older homes that need major work the price can vary widely even with “rental grade” finishes. The number of variables are huge and even contractors on the job run into unsuspected problems all the time. So sorry there is no easy answer.