How much is a renovation worth?

Actually, the reno was a bad idea on two fronts:

-- The STYLE would appeal to a very narrow segment of buyers
-- They butchered a sensible and graceful prewar layout and now there's no kitchen ... just appliances on one side of the living room.

That said, there is a premium for the building, just because it's London Terrace.

And the listing agent is a total hottie.

In its favor, this apartment looks like it is move-in ready. But as Matt states, this isn't s style that would appeal to every buyer.

Did I mention that the listing agent is a total hottie??

I like the floors throughout the apartment. What material(s) were used in the kitchen?

The kitchen looks like a kitchen you'd find in some tract house in Santa Monica where low-budget porns were filmed in the late '70s.

Also, the white marble (thank God they at least used WHITE marble instead of that awful beige) bathroom is overkill. Floor to ceiling marble -- including the floor and ceiling -- looks and feels like stepping into a mausoleum.

I don't like the bathroom as well. The bedroom looks nice (not sure about the wall color).

The bedroom is quite generous ... 12x20!

You can always change the wall color.

Unfortunately, you can't undo the blasphemy that happened to the kitchen.

At least, not without considerable expense.

let's imagine the walls were repainted white. and they never made low-budget porn films in Santa Monica in the late '70s. and the listing agent wasn't "a total hottie."

agree the bathroom's ugly, think the kitchen's anything but blasphemous.

why would it appeal to a narrow segment? i thought sleek, clean, euro was in.

here's another, i suspect by the same renovator/flipper. this one really did butcher the layout by turning a 1 BR into a low-ceilinged studio.

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/466177-coop-470-west-24th-street-chelsea-new-york

excuse me, my batphone is ringing.

The reno is too taste-specific. The kitchen is not exactly "timeless" and the bathroom is pretty extreme IMO. It's all too severe or contrived. This is a classic pre-war building whose draw is largely "the charm." This reno effectively removes anything resembling charm. I do not like it when this is how prewars are renovated. You can update elegantly, functionally, and tastefully without destroying any hint of the past. Alas, that was not the aim here. The space isn't bad for a one bedroom, but for me the idea of living on 10th Ave is a drag and not pretty at all. At least there is the highline now. IMO without a 10% reduction this is going to sit for quite a while without garnering any offers.

thank you, kylewest, for the thoughtful comment. i do think the highline, when section 2 is complete, will add a lot to the nabe.

"let's imagine the ... listing agent wasn't "a total hottie."

I'm sorry, I can't.

This may be a case where the renovator may have to eat the reno cost or let the apt sit on the market until the 'right' buyer comes along.

i LIKE the reno & would be a buyer, but i don't want to be a fool. it's 20-25% above comps.

>>And the listing agent is a total hottie.

>>-- The STYLE would appeal to a very narrow segment of buyers

Matt has a type.

2x 2006 purchase price!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

$1MM for a 1 BR??? LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

$1MM for a completely and appealingly renovated 1 bdrm in A-1 location with an excellent layout is tough, but do-able (e.g., lower Fifth Ave. jr.-four with a real dining area or one of the nice prewars). I think it will be difficult for London Terrace to garner that price point for quite some time to come. It isn't stratospheric but it is overpriced for the current market and the pool of buyers is narrowed as a result of taste-specific choices in the renovation. I wouldn't be "LOL"ing in huge caps the way I would for most new construction price points which strike me as utterly outlandish, but nonetheless, it is high for today.

One can get MUCH more for the money in this market. As noted -- this is not a fabulous location, view, etc. LOL is always in caps -- it is the acronym...

Also -- 2x 2006 pricing -- outrageous.

"$1MM for a completely and appealingly renovated 1 bdrm in A-1 location with an excellent layout is tough, but do-able"

Only if it had a real kitchen.

I like the kitchen, and the move-in condition will appeal to someone -- however, one pricing consideration is the fact that a buyer *could* buy a corner and renovate it just like this for less than this list.

BR, if you are looking for a tighter guideline to a starting bid, and aren't working with an agent, feel free to ping me -- my firm has been based in Chelsea for decades.

Either way, nice handle.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

"BR, if you are looking for a tighter guideline to a starting bid, and aren't working with an agent, feel free to ping me "

I think it would be unfair to deny the total hottie listing agent the full commission.

$995,000 for this in this market? and reno too? why ?

All the other units in the building that are in contract are less than $1000 per sq ft while this one is over. Are ALL the other ones in contract tougher renovations? :)

i counted less then 800 sq ft. forget about the reno that will need to be re-renoed. this place will bloom in 2020 at this price.

But the listing agent is hot.

Everyone seems to be glossing over that very important fact.

i was trying to be polite, matt - but he's hardly a hottie (from the bits i can see)

Bite your tongue!

I don't like the style, but I *love* the layout of the kitchen in 10E. Most London Terrace kitchens are horrible (borderline non-functional) and can't be fixed by simple renovation. It looks like the floorplan of this kitchen was significantly altered and expanded, which I thought wasn't allowed in most co-ops?

Same for the bathroom in 7J -- that's definitely bigger than the original layout. Looks like somewhere along the lines permission was granted to turn a closet into a shower.

Anyone know for sure if this building is more flexible about allowing expansions of kitchens/baths? Knowing that I could expand a kitchen would definitely make me view the building in a different light.

lad, it all depends on when the changes were done. in my old building, when it just went coop, you could do whatever you wanted. the first apartment that i bought there, had 2 closets knocked down to create an office area, plenty of others were in the apartment. the owner tore down the window and air conditioning sleeve and put in sliding doors to the outside rather than a regular door. today, the board would never allow something like that in that building.

thanks for al your comments. they confirmed what i sort of already knew - that despite the reno this place is egregiously overpriced. the reno is appealing to me but not at sucker's prices. otoh, finding a good deal downtown is a bitch, even circa 2010. i'm amazed at the discrepancy between downtown & uptown. a friend is selling a big pre-war 2 BR in a good bldg on east 57th for $950K, downtown it's hard to find a decent 1 BR at that price. to the last 2 posters, what appeals to me about LT is that it's really a condo disguised as a co-op. no board approval, liberal sublet policy, and evidently, liberal renovation policy as well.