Adding a Room

You need permits from DOB. Usually, the contractor gets them for you. If you want to know more before you hire a contractor, you can call your community board manager and your City Council member's office. They should be able to help get you started.

A bedroom on the first level won't add value to the property--it might actually bring the value down a bit, as most buyers will factor in the need to demo (most people generally don't want a bedroom on the first floor, after all). As for the renovated kitchen--generally, that would only add value if you're planning to sell in the near future. Kitchen renos 'age' very quickly--what works and looks fresh today will likely look dated a few years from now.

Definitely do not expect to get your $60K out. That said, if this redo works for you and your family, and makes life easier for your parents, that is worth its weight in gold.

thanks.....the bedroom will be off the kitchen with a deck....so it can be used as a family room as well...so i think it will add value....how much is anyone's guess!

it all depends on the location in brooklyn. since you're describing a split, i'd guess that house is located in mill basin/bergen beach. there, the bigger the better. that's the only reason why people move to such a remote location.

your adding a room you need so it adds value for you. but assuming any buyer would want it and it would add value to a sale doesn't really make sense. don't attach yourself to that notion. just do what you need to do. good luck

Ah, chelapt, I misunderstood. I thought you meant you were planning to carve out a bedroom in the existing structure (we apartment dwellers don't always get the concept of living in a house where such things are possible! :-)). Yes, if you're actually building an addition then it will indeed add value to the home. How much isn't clear, though. One way to gauge might be to look at houses in the area that are roughly the size/configuration your new structure will be.

yup...its mill basin/bergen beach....its remote in the sense that it takes approx 1 hr via bus to get to midtown(without traffic).....but its a really suburban area...doesnt seem like brooklyn....but you have to like to commute! My parents home is average and attached on one side......but many of the homes in the area are kind of like 'hamponish'.....if you know what i mean.

Look at the psf in your parents' neighborhood. Let's say it's $300/psf, and the addition is 250sf, you'd be adding $75,000 of "value." Of course, it's never that linear, it will depend on the quality of the construction, the market then, the fit for the right buyer and other unicorn magic type measurement. I certainly wouldn't embark on the project just to add value, or to get my money back.

you will have more DOB issues because the house is a semi. you'll have to take a look if there's enough FAR to do an addition and there could be a limit as to where and how you do it. i would speak to the contractors who work in that area as they'll know all the ins and outs.

you're right of 1 hr with no traffic. i took a bus to downtown a few months back 3 miles closer at 8 am and it took me 1 hr + to get there. never again, b/q train is the way to go from the location i was at.

i think having the master suite on the first floor was very popular at some point (and maybe still is?), so that shouldn't be a problem. as far as the kitchen, you can avoid the dated look by not blinging it out in a trendy way. i.e. do white subway tiles for backsplash, avoid dark granite, for god's sake stop the madness and don't put a frickin faucet over your stove. actually if you do the whole kitchen in white with stainless steel appliances it will always look clean crisp and not very dated. just use common sense when planning it. good luck and good for you for taking care of your parents.