For me? 3 years...lol

OK more seriously...I started considering a renovation 3 years ago, hired a KD to do plans about 2 year ago, then put it on hold to save some more money. Last year I started getting updated bids beginning in June 2016. I signed the contract in Dec and they demo'd in Feb (this was mostly based on the contractor availability).

The renovation was for kitchen and my only bathroom. GC said 4-5 weeks for the bathroom (important as I was moving out). 3 weeks after demo, that timeline was clearly wrong, and I got a schedule that showed 8 weeks--then they kept getting further behind. I ended up moving back in at 6 weeks with a toilet and tub spout for a bathroom. Shower was done at 10 weeks. Appliances at 15 weeks. Nearly everything was done by early July. Final inspection was 2 weeks ago (last few months really didn't need to be so slow, just they were waiting on materials and the last little items weren't very urgent for me either).

I'd keep in mind that contractors are busy, so the quoting and contract signing will be slow, and it may be a while (like months) for a good person to start. I strongly recommend taking your time in layout and material planning. I thought I'd made most of the decisions before they started, but there are so many things that came up that I hadn't considered! I was glad that I'd already picked cabinets, countertop, and the big stuff.

Ultimately I'm happy with the results with my GC, but the scheduling snafu was incredibly stressful. If I were doing it over, I would have asked them for a detailed schedule before they started. I assumed the 4-5 weeks he told me was based on a schedule, but I think it was just a bad guesstimate and they didn't do the schedule until after demo (which is insane to me!).

I'd consider moving in and living with the kitchen and bath as is for a bit. That will at least take the pressure off during the planning and quoting stage, which will definitely take a long time. Living there will also help you better understand what exactly you want to fix with the space. But that would depend on how much time you have on your lease and weighing paying for 2 homes vs. moving twice and finding temporary housing.

Ok sorry for writing so much! I think it doesn't have to be as slow as my situation...but it will be slow!

You need to check into co-op rules of how and when reno's can even take place. Some don't allow them during certain months, they have rules, about hours, days of week and also length of time the reno can take. They also have to approve reno's before you can even begin. Some will be quick and some co-ops take months. Also being NYC parking for the contractor, getting materials delivered, permits all add to the timeline. Doing a bath and kitchen in a coop in NYC will take longer than 8 weeks, more like 4 months to 2 years depending on your pocketbook. I would pay for a good designer and construction team that knows your building and is well liked by your co-op board. That can speed things up.

We have an HOA and are on the west coast and the answer is: it really depends. We had a very hard time finding a licensed, bonded and insured contractor to work on our bathroom. We saw some HOAs that mandate you must work with a particular contractor and that can be very difficult because you're on their timeline. I've had friends who waited years in that type of situation. For us it took 5 months to find a contractor for our bathroom. The actual work itself is only slated to take 4 days.

Also remember you can have hidden problems with your house. When we did our kitchen counters we discovered we had extensive termite damage in our attached windowsill that was hidden. We had to stop the counter install and get the Exterminator to come out. If you're getting a home that's been neglected know that you're more likely to find a lot of issues like this in the walls and it does mess everything up.

All this was a total pain. But I have the house I love. I only like the flips I've seen so so and I know that we did our renovation right, so it was worth it. I also found that you were able to do a lot of the renovations ourselves in the kitchen so we were able to save a lot of money that way.

I would think that your job would be no different than any one elses's when it comes to contractor delays, un-planned-for issues in your new home, and other unforeseen problems. Add that to all the things others have mentioned, and I would say that the equation leans toward starting the work whenever the contractor is available and err in favor of having to pay for a month or two of double rent/house payments. You may think I am crazy, but think about how it would be to NOT be able to move in when your lease expires. Do you have somewhere else to go?

Get very friendly with the super. Just sayin'.

Both DD's recently moved into co-ops. One was a gut job, the other a complete reno.

DH helped both DD's and acted as the GC. They both took 4 months. We used the same contractor for both, but he had other things going on when he did our second daughters home.

First DD. We were told that all permits had to be in place as a noisy neighbor reports anything amiss! Things had to be worked around an art gallery that is housed on the ground floor. No super in this building.

Second DD. Although everything was played by the rulebook, the super made things easier by allowing elevator access when we needed it.

It's very hard to remove debris. WE made sure all public areas were protected so no damage was done to the building in the process. We hired a company that came and took off the demolition at once. A Huge truck pulls up, stuff gets loaded, goes around the block for next load etc to not hold up traffic. No need for a dumpster.

We hired a company that came and took off the demolition at once. A Huge truck pulls up, stuff gets loaded, goes around the block for next load etc to not hold up traffic. No need for a dumpster.

DH would hold a parking space for the contractor so he could start on time!

Hard to predict how long things can take. Oldest actually moved into her place without a kitchen. The kitchen was installed shortly after.