How to organize an interior home renovation for fixer upper (appliances, attorneys)

[dearmschris]

So I’ve gone and bought a fixer upper. The structure is good-it’s outdated and somewhat hideous on the inside. Two bedrooms need new floors, walls, ceilings and electrical. The kitchen needs new floor, counter and appliances. The bathrooms could do with new flooring, walls and vanities. I’m at a loss about how to organize this. The closing should be happening early in the month and I’m hoping to get the work done before the end of the month so I don’t have to pay another months rent. Do sellers let you bring people in for estimates? The house is vacant. Can one person do flooring, walls and ceilings or does everyone specialize in one thing? I’m trying to wrap my head around putting this together. Any suggestions about how to plan and execute this???

[bugelrex]

Similar situation. So far biggest challenge is finding affordable, dependable contractors who do good work. At this point, its easier for me to try and learn how to fix things (non plumbing, non electrical) and learn carpentry skills

Estimates for bathroom 50 sqft renovation have been shocking. Between 30k to 45k. The one contractor who gave a reasonable estimate of 15k stopped returning calls...

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by bugelrex

Similar situation. So far biggest challenge is finding affordable, dependable contractors who do good work. At this point, its easier for me to try and learn how to fix things (non plumbing, non electrical) and learn carpentry skills

Estimates for bathroom 50 sqft renovation have been shocking. Between 30k to 45k. The one contractor who gave a reasonable estimate of 15k stopped returning calls...

Wow, that is shocking! To answer the OP, you will need a general contractor. Don't expect any help from the seller, your realtor may have some recommendations for tradespeople.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by dearmschris

So I’ve gone and bought a fixer upper. The structure is good-it’s outdated and somewhat hideous on the inside. Two bedrooms need new floors, walls, ceilings and electrical. The kitchen needs new floor, counter and appliances. The bathrooms could do with new flooring, walls and vanities. I’m at a loss about how to organize this. The closing should be happening early in the month and I’m hoping to get the work done before the end of the month so I don’t have to pay another months rent. Do sellers let you bring people in for estimates? The house is vacant. Can one person do flooring, walls and ceilings or does everyone specialize in one thing? I’m trying to wrap my head around putting this together. Any suggestions about how to plan and execute this???

It's probably easiest to find a general contractor who will organize the project for you and hire all the subs. If you're a micromanager that's going to mean relinquishing some control and because you're adding a middle man that's going to add some expense. If it's a big enough project though it's something that's worth paying for IMO.

As far as bringing folks in for estimates . . . read through your purchase and sale. It should detail your visitation rights. Typically, you have the right to visit the property specifically for such purposes. However, some attorneys will write in a limit to the number of visits.

Originally Posted by bugelrex

Similar situation. So far biggest challenge is finding affordable, dependable contractors who do good work. At this point, its easier for me to try and learn how to fix things (non plumbing, non electrical) and learn carpentry skills

Estimates for bathroom 50 sqft renovation have been shocking. Between 30k to 45k. The one contractor who gave a reasonable estimate of 15k stopped returning calls...

Wow! That's really high. The economy is good so contractors are busy.

[RBThescot]

Originally Posted by dearmschris

The closing should be happening early in the month and I’m hoping to get the work done before the end of the month so I don’t have to pay another months rent.

?

You're totally unrealistic. You'll be lucky to interview and choose a contractor and begin making the thousand decisions you have to make to renovate an old house by the end of the year, not the end of the month.

You don't appear to know that reputable contractors are booked months to a year in advance. They aren't sitting at home waiting for your call. Usually they're juggling several jobs at a time and you go to the back of the line not the front.

You probably need to look at this as a long term project where you have a lot of inconvenience but will be happy when it's done. You need to make decisions about where you're going to live while this work is being done.

Sorry, but you sound like you don't have a realistic idea how this works.

[alidmc]

Originally Posted by dearmschris

So I’ve gone and bought a fixer upper. The structure is good-it’s outdated and somewhat hideous on the inside. Two bedrooms need new floors, walls, ceilings and electrical. The kitchen needs new floor, counter and appliances. The bathrooms could do with new flooring, walls and vanities. I’m at a loss about how to organize this. The closing should be happening early in the month and I’m hoping to get the work done before the end of the month so I don’t have to pay another months rent. Do sellers let you bring people in for estimates? The house is vacant. Can one person do flooring, walls and ceilings or does everyone specialize in one thing? I’m trying to wrap my head around putting this together. Any suggestions about how to plan and execute this???

Originally Posted by bugelrex

Similar situation. So far biggest challenge is finding affordable, dependable contractors who do good work. At this point, its easier for me to try and learn how to fix things (non plumbing, non electrical) and learn carpentry skills

Estimates for bathroom 50 sqft renovation have been shocking. Between 30k to 45k. The one contractor who gave a reasonable estimate of 15k stopped returning calls...

I agree that a contractor is the best way to go here, given the scope of work. We are in the midst of a large reno project and the whole process took way longer than we planned and is much more expensive than we thought it would be. It took our contractor over a year to start the work and he was realistically the only way we could get quality sub-contractors. It's almost impossible to find a plumber.

The expense will depend on what area you live in. In most of E. Mass contractors are in short supply and are charging accordingly.

The 30-45K for a 50 Sq ft bath seems high to me. We are building a 120 sq ft bath from scratch and the all in cost will be around 35K, and that's not skimping on materials. This is part of larger project, however, and could account for the difference in price.

[bizcuit]

I hope that you had a good and thorough inspection done.

I agree with the others, find a good general contractor and let him manage your project. Whatever your budget is for the work, make sure you save a big percentage of that for contingency.

Regarding getting in before closing to bring contractors in for quotes: It is usually not a problem, but it really depends on the seller. Are you using a realtor? Have your realtor contact the seller's agent and see what they say. I know when I sold my various homes I allowed the buyers in before closing to do measurements and whatnot. Most sellers are pretty reasonable about that sort of thing, but you may find the odd duck here or there who will be difficult. If it's empty, chances are it'll be no problem, just work through the RE agents.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by dearmschris

The closing should be happening early in the month and I’m hoping to get the work done before the end of the month so I don’t have to pay another months rent.

For what you stated you want done, your expectation is realistic. Contractors are booked solid right now. If you got someone in for an estimate of one room the day you closed, you'd be lucky to have them return to perform the work in a month or two.

For your extensive list, it might be close to a year before they get back and actually start working and complete it.

I built a deck last year...and that alone was 3-months after I gave the deposit before I was scheduled.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by dearmschris

So I’ve gone and bought a fixer upper. The structure is good-it’s outdated and somewhat hideous on the inside. Two bedrooms need new floors, walls, ceilings and electrical. The kitchen needs new floor, counter and appliances. The bathrooms could do with new flooring, walls and vanities. I’m at a loss about how to organize this. The closing should be happening early in the month and I’m hoping to get the work done before the end of the month so I don’t have to pay another months rent. Do sellers let you bring people in for estimates? The house is vacant. Can one person do flooring, walls and ceilings or does everyone specialize in one thing? I’m trying to wrap my head around putting this together. Any suggestions about how to plan and execute this???

How do you know the structure is good? I lived four years of "while it's opened up" phone calls during remodeling. You really don't know what you have until you gut exterior walls.


Personally, I wouldn't buy a house that needed work without first having people lined up to do the work. Since the damage is already done, you need to find people who can do the work. In my personal experience, the people at your local indie lumber yard probably have the best sense for who is good since they're fielding the phone calls and delivering to job sites every day. It's like if you're looking for a good painter. Go ask at the local Benjamin-Moore and Sherwin Williams stores.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by dearmschris

So I’ve gone and bought a fixer upper. The structure is good-it’s outdated and somewhat hideous on the inside. Two bedrooms need new floors, walls, ceilings and electrical. The kitchen needs new floor, counter and appliances. The bathrooms could do with new flooring, walls and vanities. I’m at a loss about how to organize this. The closing should be happening early in the month and I’m hoping to get the work done before the end of the month so I don’t have to pay another months rent. Do sellers let you bring people in for estimates? The house is vacant. Can one person do flooring, walls and ceilings or does everyone specialize in one thing? I’m trying to wrap my head around putting this together. Any suggestions about how to plan and execute this???

I hate to tell you, the work is going to take longer than a month. I had a bathroom re-done, with NO touching the plumbing at all -- just replacing the tile, putting in new counters/sinks, and retiling the shower. That took over two months.

I'm not sure what you mean by "new floors, walls, ceilings and electrical." If new floors just means pulling out the carpet and putting new carpet on top, that's a day. But if it's lots of subfloor replacement, and if there's attendant electrical work that needs to be done, it will be much longer. And new walls and ceilings? What, exactly do you mean by that?

If you want to move in ASAP, make sure you have water and electricity -- at least one working bathroom, and if not a full kitchen, at least a refrigerator and microwave or other small oven. If you really want to save money, you could live that way for a few months while you get the kitchen in shape. If you're not changing the footprint of the kitchen, and just changing the counters and appliances, you might get lucky and get that done in a few weeks.