min ballpark estimate for the most basic garage conversion
cohenese
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artemis78
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What's your rough cost per square foot estimate?
Comments (56)Hey bobyoe! Glad you straightened that out for everyone! However, your comments do raise an issue that "$ per sq. ft" obsessed folks need to think about when they talk to a builder. It's the cost of the whole project that counts, not just the cost of the house. Plus, the features, finishes, and location of the house within a market area can make a 10,000 sq ft house cost less than a 6,000 sq ft. house. No one gave us a good ballpark estimate for things like professional fees, permits, impact fees, drainage systems, or site work before we started. Most of those items were not related to the size of the house. Those costs will end up being about 18% of the total project costs. No one could convince my "$ per sq ft obsessed husband" that the features he wanted in our house were equivalent to building multiple luxury kitchens. He is convinced now :-). Same thing goes for the outside entertainment areas. He thought the covered areas should be priced like a garage. Wrong. The spec'd finishes bring the entertainment areas to a higher cost for build out than any non-plumbed room in the airconditioned space. The thing that I think we could all agree about is that you can buy an existing home at a significantly lower cost per sq. ft. in today's market. Major builders are dumping new 5 and 6 bedroom 8,000 sq ft homes in our county for $600-$800K. Yeah, they are in outlying areas on small lots, but they are brand new homes. So, in addition to size and features, you have to price in: 1. supply and demand, and 2. location within a location. We are in Palm Beach County, Florida. Our lot costs vary from $20 million per acre on the ocean in Palm Beach, $10 million per ocean front acre 15 miles south on the same island, $2-5 million per acre intracoastal waterway on the same island, and $50,000 for a 1/4 acre builder's lot 15 miles west of the ocean where the national builders are dumping their inventory. Why bring lot costs into the discussion? It's because builders will hit you hard for building in an area of high land costs. I guess they think they are entitled to a big premium if you are paying premium prices for your lot. That's my 2 cents for the day!...See MoreBallpark sq.ft. cost for adding family room
Comments (18)thanks everyone for your input....has given me an idea of what I might expect. Would have done this several years ago, but could not find a contractor in the area who was doing remodeling....the new construction was so much more profitable and probably less problematic. Now that construction has slowed, I'm hoping I'll at least get some callbacks! Ron6519-thanks for straightening me out about how the separate structure doesn't save $ and hendricus..sounds like a great job you did - great to have those skills! Thanks all....See MoreRealistic cabinet estimate
Comments (40)queensinfo Brooklyn. Our Ikea kitchen designer comes next week to measure and do the layout. Our cabinet budget significantly changed once we decide to do a gut renovation, hire an architect, expand the bathroom and knock down multiple walls. However, I'd still go with Ikea even if we had more cash to put toward cabinets. We need a new dishwasher but we are keeping our refrigerator (less than 1 year old) and our stove (about 3 years old). They are still working on the bathroom so I haven't ordered anything yet for the kitchen. I may get the dishwasher from PC Richards unless I find a better price online with free shipping and no tax. Kitchen cabinets will be less than 10% of the renovation budget. I found a ton of Ikea cabinets renovations that shocked me to know they were Ikea. http://www.houzz.com/projects/1448805/ikea-sektion-kitchen-remodel http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dans-kitchen-the-big-reveal-renovation-diary-201979 http://allieathome.com/ikea-semihandmade-kitchen-renovation-before-and-after/ http://www.remodelista.com/posts/ikea-upgrade-a-kitchen-remodel-with-cabinet-fronts-from-semihandmade-of-la/...See MoreZillow "Estimate" vs Appraisal
Comments (73)Interesting twists and turns and the conversation is kind of like one we're having at work - where is AI valuable, and where are "soft skills / people focused skills" valuable? In Zillow, I would think that they have a myriad of tools available from which to draw and SHOULD be reflective of what an appraiser SHOULD use, as well. Appraisers are supposed to be a data driven as possible to remove bias and the potential for fraud. Banks want a very "safe" value estimation to reduce their risk. OTOH - a Realtor i would view as having a forward looking perspective to judge (or intuit) the market GOING FORWARD in order to advise their client on the future attractiveness and appreciation of a property that they will take into consideration that would be different than an appraisal number. Also, for the seller, the Realtor should be able to see that same thing and price accordingly. Appraiser (and Zillow) likely use only backward looking tools, but I would expect Realtors to add insight and the more emotional aspects of any transaction in order to be able to give better insight into the future state and if something is priced right / a good deal based on a more forward view....See MoreSeabornman
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