How to finance a renovation

[Gregory Jacobs]

Hi all,

Long-time podcast listener, first-time blogger!  I recently purchased a fixer-upper (co-op) apartment in New York City.    It's about 600 sqft (large for NYC!) and the apartment cost $500k.  I put 20% on a 30-year mortgage.  The first 10-years are fixed at 2.65% and the remaining 20-years are variable.  I went with this mortgage type because I do not plan on living in the apartment for more than 5-7 years.  The all-in costs are $3,330.  My mortgage payment $1650/month and the monthly maintenance $1650 (*there is a $400/monthly assessment to make up for lost retail revenue).

I am 30-years old, single, and work at a fintech startup.  My take-home pay is $165k (+ $200k in stock options that vest over 4-years) plus a ~$20k annual bonus.  I contribute 6% to my 401k (with a 4% company match) and all medical/benefits are fully covered by my employer.  My net monthly take-home pay is ~$8k.  After expenses (mortgage, dog, gym, utilities), I net out $4,200/month.  

1. 
   Home Equity - $106k
2. Roth 401k - $55k
3. Liquid Stock - $45k
4. Overseas investments (not liquid) - $20k
5. Cash - $6k
6. Total: ~$232k (liquid $50k)

I am fortunate enough to have paid off my student loans and I have no credit card debt!

The kitchen in the apartment needs to be renovated (no working stove/oven/fridge/etc.).  All in, I am looking at $50-60k in total costs.  This investment will net $100k $130k in appreciation.  I've debated selling stock, taking out personal loans, or 0% interest credit cards to finance the project.  I can avoid added taxes/costs by paying cash for a lot of these projects as well.

Ultimately, my question is should I pay cash for the reno and avoid going into debt, or should I finance the project and pay it off over the next 1-3 years?

Thanks for your help!

Greg