Rehabbing a condemned quad

[Philip Hernandez]

Hey folks!  So I’m considering a rehab on a condemned quad.  Does any here have experience with something like that?  What are the highs and lows $wise that folks have spent on rehabbing quads?  I know that you can’t know until you know, but this property will make sense if the rehab is 100k-140k, but won’t make sense if the rehab is 200k + or it will be challenging for me to control past the 120k $ amount. Thanks for any words of wisdom for how to proceed.  A little more background.  My go to GC says that they have undertaken work like this, but that they will have to research city records to see what it’s condemned for before a reasonable estimate is known.

[Mike Wood]

@Philip Hernandez Your not really giving anyone much information to provide feed back to you.  If the city has pulled the certificate of occupancy (i.e. condemned), you will have to bring everything up to code and that means full permits and inspections.  Additionally, most cities do not take such drastic measure for properties that only need cosmetic repairs.

I can tell you from doing gut renovations, it would be nearly impossible to renovate a multifamily (2-4 unit) building for less than $50/ft2.  Even a moderate renovation (new kitchens, baths, flooring, paint, etc) will run you over $25/ft2.

Assuming each unit is a 2/1, I would guess the size of the 4 plex is 2,800 - 4,000ft2.  If I assume its a gut renovation, your looking at $140-200k to renovated the property.  If you have major structural damage, you will be looking at more money.  

Depending on what the city has flagged the property, it may be a difficult project to even get approval to rebuild.  If zoning changes have happened, they may not even let you rebuilt it as a 4-plex.

When doing such a project, the lows are cost overrun from unknown issues (structural, plumbing, etc) and problems with the city and getting permits and approvals. My last gut renovation (on a 2/1 duplex, 1600ft2 total) started with a budget of $75k and ending up costing $100k due to cost overruns and unforeseen issues.