LF Contractors + DIY Tips for a 3-FAMILY Home in Jersey City, NJ

[Jamie Hung]

Hi everyone! My partner and I are under contract for a legal 3-fam in the JSQ Indian Square area. Closing will most likely be in 2 months, and our lease is also up in 2 months so I am starting to research contractors based on the type of work we need to do so I can get quotes ASAP upon closing and we can at least live in one of the units. We are planning to slowly renovate the units, starting with the one we've requested to be vacant. It's a 4bd 2 bath and...

we're envisioning the below list for the type of work we'll have to do to the unit before/after we move in:

- Refinish or replace flooring throughout the unit with luxury vinyl planking (replace kitchen tile flooring as well)

- Repaint the entire unit

- Knockdown 2 walls of 1 bedroom to turn the space into the dining room for an open concept kitchen/dining/living space (may need a structural engineer? not sure, one wall is load-bearing)

- Renovate the kitchen, which includes possibly adding an island and replacing all cabinets and countertops. And replacing all appliances

- Renovate the bathroom with new tiling, etc as needed

Entire house needs (not urgent besides the windows + meters/heating):

- Replace concrete panel siding and brick veneer

- Replace railings on the front balcony and stairs

- Bigger project: Convert the ground floor garage into a living space for the first unit (who should I contact for help with this?)

- Replace bay windows and really old wood windows/damaged windows with vinyl windows and other bigger windows

- Add ridge vent to the roof

- Add another electric meter, install a mini-split AC system, and figure out how to split the heating for 3 units (it's currently shared and baseboard radiator heating is used throughout the house)

We are thinking of DIY-ing the painting, and possibly some other things here and there in the kitchen/bathroom but wanted to also get quotes from different contractors to see what we may need help with during the renovation and whether the cost and expertise are worth it. We've never done much DIY before but are open to it as long as we don't risk seriously messing up something important. I think at least the wall knocking down and flooring would have to be done first so we can move all our stuff from our rented apartment into this unit as soon as our current lease is up.

In terms of siding, windows, railings, ridge vent on the roof, etc, we will definitely need to find contractors to do the job. We are also open to recs on where to get cabinets, countertops, tiling, and other materials for DIY use.

Any recommendations and advice based on hearsay and past experience would be greatly appreciated!