Mar. 20, 2009 - gutting Broome Street for $160/ft

bringing light but hiding windows?
Yesterday's New York Times On Location Home & Garden feature Bringing Light to a New York Loft profiled a Broome Street total renovation ("gutted to its floor joists and beams and totally rebuilt -- with plumbing, electricity and other systems"). The loft is a classically Long-and-Narrow with ceilings high enough to stack guest rooms over the kitchen and baths. The Times headline is a play off the fact that the space had been very dark (with a rabbit warren of rooms and black paint) but is a weird angle to take about a renovation project that essentially cuts off a lot of light.

The architect's website has another set of photos, the soho loft residential project, with this description of the project:

A "functional wall" was created along one side of the 16' high ceilinged space to house the bathrooms, laundry room and kitchen below and the guest rooms and extra storage above. The layout included new landmarks approved windows, plumbing, electrical, finishes, etc. Walnut panels and blackened steel windows and doors delineate the different spaces and create the new rooms.

© Sandy Mattingly 2009  

Feb. 27, 2009 - lipstick on a pig, or, buying an overdone ($1mm?) remodel

'pig' is a metaphor, of course
What if you bought a Manhattan loft with not much light and low ceilings, and put a ton of money into it -- really jazzing it up in decidedly not neutral tones -- then decided to sell within 3 years of purchase? How confident would you be of recovering your purchase price and added cost?

In the case of a loft new to market on the fringe of a prime loft neighborhood, the buyers-turned-remodelers-turned-sellers are asking more than $500/ft on top of what they paid. That would make it some upgrade, and a stretch for this building (based on past sales).

one of 8,000,000 stories
This is quite a spectacular loft, actually. But not one that will match the tastes of many people -- so much so that it is obvious that these folks planned to stay a while. (Unless they subscribed to that very old-fashioned notion that money just doesn't matter.) I have no idea what they paid to remodel, especially as the mechanical and other systems were new when this condo was converted earlier this century. But I am very curious about what it cost, as the asking price is 175% of what they paid within 3 years.

shrinking the market
Of course, anything that reduces the depth of the pool of potential buyers will reduce the odds of getting the best price and increase the odds that it will take longer to sell. However spectacular (seriously, it is very dramatic, and all tricked out with toys for boys and for girls), this loft is working against competition that is more central with a less funky street vibe, that has higher ceilings, 'loft' character, and more natural light. They may be down to looking for one of very few possible buyers.

have to, or 'want' to?
If they find themselves in the position that they have to sell, they are trying to thread a very narrow needle at this price. If they have the 'luxury' of time, they are more likely to find that one right buyer, but time (in this market) is probably working against them. Obviously, I am feeling that this is much too pushy for this market, but if that (mythical?) European all-Euro buyer with exactly the right taste arrives and falls in amore it just might work. I remain intrigued by sellers who want to be compesnated for the pain and expense of seriously upgrading a loft (as with yesterday's post, how much is that renovation in the window?).

Let's watch.

© Sandy Mattingly 2009  

Oct. 10, 2008 - what springs eternal? hope, renovation, or ...hubris?

careful post about a new listing
Yeah, I know I am not supposed to blog about current listings from other firms (if you're new here, check out end of an era for Manhattan Loft Guy / a new day dawns? from April 9 for that story), so I will do this carefully and cryptically. (And ethically.)

I came across a new Manhattan loft listing recently that looked kind of familiar. Our ever-so-irritating inter-firm data base shows that this condo loft had been on the market in 2007 at around $1,200/ft but was "permanently off the market" in the Summer of 2007. Now it is 'new' with a different firm and agent at over $1,400/ft. Hmmm ... that seems a bit brassy, doesn't it?

not so brassy, but what happened here?
Further digging in city records showed that the loft had not been 'taken off the market' last Summer, but had actually sold. For about $1,100/ft. Which seemed brassier still, until I checked the pix and descriptions from the new listing against the old one -- the loft has definitely been renovated. City records show a building permit having been issued soon after the sale data for a job estimated to be $30,000 that is probably for this unit, though the renovation looks far more extensive than that.

what did they spend?
So instead of doing a blog post along the lines of what-were-they-thinking?, as originally drove me, this will just be  a note that I will track this listing with interest. I hope that it sells so that I can explain this better, but for now I can only wonder how much they put into the unit in renovation to seek to generate more than $300/ft over last Summer's purchase price.

This sounds like one of those eight million stories (perhaps of the Lehamn Brothers variety?): happy buyers acquire cool loft at a bit of a discount from the asking price, then immediately set out to do a major renvoation (the condition when they bought it was ceratinly more than 'live in' based on the prior listing description, but apparently not what they envisioned). Then ... something happened and off to market they go.

Interesting times, no?

Dec. 10, 2007 - need renovation stories / a reader writes for help

how far could $150/ft go?
A faithful reader wrote in off-line asking for help in ball-parking the potential renovation expense in buying a loft that would need a lot of work.

More precisely, he said:

I have mostly been looking at recently refurbished apartments, but have recently expanded my search to include apartments that would require either partial or full renovations. Like everyone, I like nice finishes, but my tastes are not extravagant. I think the finishes on this apartment are about what I would be looking for - certainly nice, but not over the top. http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1041451. [that is #3A at 16 Hudson Street]

Based on your experience, could you tell me what range of cost I could expect to gut renovate a traditional loft in Tribeca? Do you think it would be possible to do nicely (but once again, not extravagantly) for $150 / sq. ft. for a 1750 sq. ft. loft ($250K in total)? Kitchen, two bathrooms, central air, etc.

Also, if you have any architects whose work you really recommend for something like this, I'd be grateful for the recommendation.

My response (below) won't be as helpful to him as Actual Information from Actual Loft Renovators. Anyone care to share facts about what they spent on a renovation, or what they were quoted?

I told him: "Short story is that you *can* do a renovation for a buck and a half per foot, *depending*…. The quotes I have seen for installing central air (assuming it is do-able at all, and the compressor doesn't have to go on the roof) were less than $50k for less than 2,000 sq ft. I find that kitchens are often easier (cheaper) than baths - that's where The Big Money will go. The rest is cosmetics, up to the limit of your budget, with built-ins and fancy stuff if there's room."

And I gave him the contacts for 2 loft architects I know.


(C) Sandy Mattingly 2007

Oct. 14, 2007 - combo job at 8 W 13 needs answers

Jul. 29, 2007 - loft pioneering as late as 1998 / 62 Orchard St NY Times ‘Habitats’ feature