Renovation, yes or no

i would take a fixer upper if the price is right

I think wonderfully refinished floors and a fresh coat of paint (nothing fancy on paint--neutral off-white, don't bother with skim coating) would be worth it. Those things make a HUGE impact and you will sell more quickly. Place will look fresh and clean even if kitchen/bath need work or other cosmetic fixed would later be called for. I would NOT redo bath and kitchen, because a budget job would just require you to charge more for the unit when selling and a buyer would likely feel they were paying for a budget reno that they are just going to tear out to do to their taste.

the decision about whether or not to do the renovations is probably not about price but speed.

If your apartment is worth $X now, it will probably sell at $X --

if you spend $15K, it will probably sell at "$X+15K"

but in the latter case you've probably shaved one to three months off the amount of time it takes to sell.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

You can always list it without doing work (but certainly de-clutter and clean thoroughly) and see if you get your price. If you don't have a buyer with an acceptable offer, you can then do the cosmetic touch-ups to make it more appealing. I'd love to hear broker thoughts on this approach: is it detrimental to the listing if you have to take it off market for a while and then re-list? Will the apt. then be considered stale or is there enough turnover in buyers that you'll perhaps appeal to a new crop 3-4 months later?

"from 15,000 to 20,000, thinking it would sell better if it was in reasonably good shape. All the renovations would do is paint and plaster, replace a worn kitchen floor and fix this or that all around, really just cosmetic fixes."

From the work you described, you are being obscenely overcharged. 1 BR in Gramercy, we're talking like 700 sf, right?

I know, totally!

Pay someone off craig's list $1k to paint the place and bring a screwdriver...

I am about to close on the sale of my Chelsea apartment for 15% above the listed asking price. One of the reasons I think I did so well in this softer market is because I spent about $20K replacing a couple of light fixtures, repairing parts of the floor and baseboard and painting the entire apartment in a crisp, neutral off white. My showings took place 4 weeks into the spring season. At the time, I was anxious that my market prospects would be adversely affected by the delay; in retrospect I'm glad I spent the extra money and time to show the place in its best possible light.

if i showed you how amazingly easy it is to change a light fixture you'd be appalled that they even charged you for it.

As a potential buyer, I cannot stand walking into a place that has been given a schlocky 'rent-ready' overhaul. Buyers who know what they're looking for don't want to deal with ripping out the cheap, fake travertine floor, crummy countertops, and chintzy light fixtures that are ubiquitous in these types of renos. If you want to slap a fresh coat of white paint on the walls to make the place less dreary looking, fine. But I wouldn't go too nuts.

Personally, as a future first time buyer in NYC, in this market, I'd bid lower than ask for a cosmetic fixer. But location plays into this as well, if someone really likes your building and really wants the Gramercy area-- you may get a good price. You did not mention any other perks to your apt, such as what floor it is in, views, layout etc.

Thanks for all the comments above. The problem in my building is that they won't let anybody even paint my walls who didn't go to Harvard Contractor school and has a gazillion dollars insurance, so any renovation will be more expensive because of it. I bought a stove recently and they wouldn't let the licensed PC Richards contractors install it, I had to hire a plumber.

sounds like a very picky co op board to me. hope you dont run into trouble with them once you find a buyer. just make the place as neat as possible, and do the painting yourself, its not that difficult. List the apartment fairly if it needs work.

pay the super to do it on the side. he will not tell anyone. and why would you need a plumber to install a stove? thats completely retarded. Installing a stove is real easy.

If you can get the visual cosmetics finished quickly -- (two weeks) do it. Cartainly you see the shows where they declutter, splash on some new paint, and stage the apartment. It will sell more quickly and at a better price. For the real work -- you are fighting the clock where values are falling -- it it will take you three months to get ready -- and the bonus numbers for wall street roll in -- the sentiment will be working against you. I had a similarly strict board -- just decorate where possible and move on quickly.