Manhattan NY Condo FAQ: Can I renovate my Manhattan NY Condo?

The quick answer is Yes.  You can certainly renovate your Manhattan New York Condo. The long answer is that it’s not going to be as easy as you may think and certainly going to cost more than what you could do in a more suburban environment.

Now that you are a condo owner, you have to live within the by-laws the building has adopted.  One of those by-laws concerning a renovation is that any person you hire to come in and do work must be licensed, bonded and insured.Because work you are performing to your Condo could possibly effect another condo, the contractor you use has to be authorized by the building to perform the work.

Another large factor involved is that any work to the condo apartment typically has be be authorized by the building management and condo board.  If you are renovating your bathroom or remodeling the kitchen where the plumber will be tapping into the building’s plumbing systems before you do any of the work, you will submit an alterations agreement to the building to make sure the work you are doing isn’t going to negatively effect other apartments.

This process of getting your renovation authorized by the building can take some time, especially if you need permits from the city of New York.

If you are remodeling your house the worker’s can start very early in the morning and stay late into the evening if you want them to.  Not in a Manhattan condo building. There will be building work hours, typically between 9-5pm, Monday through Friday. The limited hours will add to the amount of time it takes to finish a project.

Don’t be surprised if the cost to do what you may think is a simple renovation is more expensive than what you expected.  The labor costs here are much higher than anywhere else.The key aspect to renovate big or small your Manhattan apartment is to work with an experienced general contractor who has a lot of experience working in Manhattan apartment buildings.  Who understand how to process the paperwork, who knows how long and how much a renovation is going to cost.  We work with a number of different contractors who have such experience depending on the type of project you want to undertake.

Because renovations are not as easy as you’d think, that is why there is such a premium price for fully renovated turn key apartments in the city.  Completely unrenovated ore estate condition apartments typically sell at a discount because renovating them is not as easy as you’d think.  If you are looking for an apartment to renovate be prepared to undertake the project or hand it off to an experienced contractor.