Updating Electricity

It depends on what has to be done. Does electric need to be brought up from the basement? (This is not uncommon in estate condition apartments.) If so, that can be quite an expensive job--can run between $10K and $20K, sometimes even higher.

Wondering, why would electric need to be brought up from basement if there's already wiring (albeit outdated) in the apartment?

my building went through a similar evaluation recently, and there are a couple of items to check: what's the rating coming into the building, what's the rating coming up from the basement, what can your wires within your unit support. assuming you are upgrading your electrical to handle higher end appliances and such, you have to ensure that the wires along all three areas will handle the load. if the building hasnt upgraded their electrical, upgrading your unit won't matter much because you're not going to be able to pull enough electricity to support your needs(we're in a 10 unit brownstone and cost estimate was $40-50k for the building). Assuming it has, but the wires running to your apartment were not, then I think the $10k-$20k range is pretty accurate (this also depends whether or not your building has the conduit pipes (not sure if this is the right terminology) which makes the project a little less intrusive and therefore less costly). Also, keep in mind electricians like to make holes in walls, but they don't patch, so you'll need to get a general contractor to do part of the job.

""Wondering, why would electric need to be brought up from basement if there's already wiring (albeit outdated) in the apartment?""

If the amperage in the apartment is insufficient--again, not uncommon in original-condition prewar apartments--then it may have to be pulled up from the basement for your unit. This is something the building's management can answer for you.

The work is minor. Only suckers pay more than 3k.

Very informative, thanks. We've been looking at prewars some of which appear to have original wiring with no updates. Some look to have mostly original, but then one or two outlets updated to serve air conditioners. Not sure how that works, but assume the rest of the apt would need to be upgraded.

Do most people update their electricity when they buy one?