Trying to Figure Out Home Repair/Remodeling Costs (Lynbrook, Mineola: countertops, appliances)

[QueensKid]

Hi Folks -

I'm shopping for a house in Western Nassau (NHP, GCP, Mineola, Williston Park, Stewart Manor, Herricks) and I'm finding myself stuck between two markets. One is the "minimal work required" market where homes are going for $375-$450 K; the other is the "needs a lot of work" market where homes are going for $275-$350 K.

With that in mind, I'd like to generally know how much it costs to update certain parts of the house. Here's what I'd have to do:

1. Convert from oil to gas. The tank is above ground in the basement.

2. Install two bay windows in the front of the house (it's a Cape; I'd like one window on each side of the front door).

3. Completely redo the kitchen (new appliances, granite counter-tops, new flooring).

4. Finish the basement (looks like a dungeon right now; I'd want carpeting, a ceiling, etc).

Sorry I can't be more specific; I'm sure size and materials matter, etc--please just give me a ballpark figure.

To give you a better idea of what I want to do:

I want to go from this:

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z.../2396601_0.jpg

to something like this:

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z.../2433029_1.jpg

Any thoughts? I'm thinking it may be better (and cheaper) to buy a $275 K house and put $50 K into it than to buy a $375 K house.

Your two cents are greatly appreciated. I'm not handy nor do I know what materials cost, etc. Thanks.

[James1202]

I think you should go for the fixer upper. $100K will give you much more reno. than you're listing.

[QueensKid]

Originally Posted by LIGuy1202

I think you should go for the fixer upper. $100K will give you much more reno. than you're listing.

Thanks for the response.

I'm looking at a renovation budget of around $50 K though. Is that enough? Obviously, the bay windows aren't a must, but I would have to put in new windows throughout, and I would like nice, bigger windows in the front.

And the granite countertops aren't a must either... just something nice and above the basic.

I want "nice," not "impressive" or "luxury," if you catch my drift.

[mrsuggestion]

I'm planning a 15'x20' kitchen renovation, which will cost around 30K. The conversion to gas, depending on the boiler/furnace and hot water heater, is around 6-9K.

Matt

[Chrisk327]

kitchen - 20-50K +
oil to gas 5-8k
windows, hard to say, the actual units are probably $1500 a piece plus framing supporting wall out, plus putting everything back can get costly. direct replacement of what is there is cheaper.

basement - again it depends, my guess 15-30K, depending on what you want, and what is there now. it could be cheaper, but could be more expensive.

I'm just a homeowner, not a contractor, so take my advice for what its worth.

[Elke Mariotti]

If you skip the basement entirely, you MIGHT be able to squeeze by on $50K.

But it doesn't sound as though you want to keep the basement as-is...

[QueensKid]

Originally Posted by Chrisk327

kitchen - 20-50K +
oil to gas 5-8k
windows, hard to say, the actual units are probably $1500 a piece plus framing supporting wall out, plus putting everything back can get costly. direct replacement of what is there is cheaper.

basement - again it depends, my guess 15-30K, depending on what you want, and what is there now. it could be cheaper, but could be more expensive.

I'm just a homeowner, not a contractor, so take my advice for what its worth.

$20 K for a kitchen? Really? Damn.

Anyhow, thanks for your input.

[Chrisk327]

Originally Posted by QueensKid

$20 K for a kitchen? Really? Damn.

Anyhow, thanks for your input.

well it really depends on what you want, what shape the house is in currently and if/what things need to be moved.

if you can do a lot of stuff yourself, you can get by cheaper. it also depends on how big the kitchen is.

[lubby]

Originally Posted by QueensKid

$20 K for a kitchen? Really? Damn.

Anyhow, thanks for your input.

for a complete gut of the kitchen 20-30K
For a bathroom between 8-16K depending on how big bathroom is , if you go with high quality brand name fixtures like moen or Kohler. Allure charged us 16K for our bathroom but there are other guys out there who can do just as good of a job for less. We went with high end fixtures and a sandstone counter top for our bath but you don't have to go that route to have a nice looking bathroom. I plan on gutting my kitchen in the next few years too. I Figure it should cost me at least 80-100K to gut the inside of my house except for the bathroom. I only have a 2 bedroom ranch and don't plan to expand up.

[twingles]

You really need to price out cabinets, fixtures and appliances and see what you can live with and what you can't. I believe the price of cabinets is what - 40% of the price of a kitchen? If you are doing a complete gut you'll need to factor in the price of drywall and someone to hang it and finish it correctly. White appliances can be had pretty cheap this days, if you gotta have stainless you'll pay the price. Check out scratch-and-dent places - there's one in Lynbrook I think it's called ARCO. Do you need a Grohe faucet or will Delta do? And so on.

Good luck with your projects.