General Renovation Costs
A: I get a lot of questions about how much it would cost to renovate a kitchen, or bath, or hardwood floor that I felt a need to post on it. Ideally, you want to find the worst apartment on the best block in the best building that is selling at a discount because of the condition of the unit. Don't avoid the wreck! Buy it!
Example Wreck Listings
1. Holly Hunt of Halstead's listing at 130 E 94th street
2. Robin Morrissey's listing at 131 E 93rd street
3. Pam Tomlin's listing at 157 East 72nd street
4. Gary Kahn's listing at 46 West 65th street
Example Fully Renovated Listings
1. Jennifer Wilson's listing at 345 East 73rd street
2. Susan Skinner's listing at 315 West 86th street
Here is a breakdown of what to expect for apartment renovations:
KITCHEN RENOVATIONS
Low End (Ikea Cabinetry/GE Appliances) ---> $7,000 - 10,000
Mid End (Home Depot Cabinetry/KitchenAid Appliances) ---> $10,000 - $15,000
High End (Custom Cabintry/Bosch Appliances) ---> $15,000 - $25,000
BATHROOM RENOVATIONS
Low End ---> $5,000 - $7,000
High End ---> $7,000 - $15,000
HDWD FLOORING RENOVATIONS
Floor Resurfacing ---> $2.00 - $3.00/Per SFT (Includes Sanding, Staining, & Water Based Poly) See my post for more details.
New Floor ---> $15 - $20/Per SFT (Includes removal of old floor and installation of brand new flooring. Price varies depending on floor product used)
ADDING A WALL
Pressurized Wall ---> Up to $1,250 or so
Permanent Wall ---> $3,000 - $5,000 (depending on electrical, closet added, use of glass bricks, etc.). See my post for more details.
These costs are very general and should be used only as a guide when deciding whether or not to renovate your apartment. Also, keep in mind that there will be a renovation package that you MUST submit to your condo/co-op board along with fees to process the application for renovating.
Assuming all goes well and you get approved, expect a temporary mess and a big headache as you deal with the dust, noise, and incovienence of contracting work during the renovation. This is one reason why renovating in NYC gets such a premium; not only is the buyer getting an updated apartment, but they do not have to deal with the headaches of planning, applying for, and actual work of the renovation process.
UrbanDigs Says: Savvy real estate investors know that location and permanent features of a property are what people pay big bucks for! So, do your best to find an apartment in a desireable location (near public transit systems, restaurants, parks, bars, etc.), with as much raw space and views/natural light as possible that is in need of major work and TLC! Buy at a discount and then do the renovations yourself so that when you resell you can demand the premium that fully renovated apartments in NYC get!
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Comments (2)
My husband and I are currently renting an apartment in the building that my father in law owns. I approached him with the idea of renovating it to have more space. He encouraged me to come back to him with a well thought out plan. Basically I need to know what are the risks? I want to knock down some walls, out up a wall, I want to know if the tenants upstairs will have to move out, if I can move a gas pipe and the water pipes to remodel the kitchen and add more counter space? I also wanted to know an estimate of how long this would take. It's a very small apartment in Brooklyn on the second floor of a 3 family house.
Posted by Brenda Wynter | December 17, 2007 10:07 AM
This is very useful but could you go further? I am considering buying a multi-family in Brooklyn, possibly this summer or fall (waiting a bit for prices to fall). I want to consider foreclosures and "TLC" properties. In order to be able to assess places and bid properly I am trying to figure out how to estimate the costs for renovating such a place. When people speak of "gut" renovation, what does that entail/cost? Is there a good book somewhere about this?
Thanks!
Posted by Catherine | May 2, 2008 12:30 PM