Cost of full rehab of a house in Boston

[Marietou P.]

I am curious to know how much it costs to rehab houses in Boston. Let's say it is a 2500 sqft house 6b, 2b, 3 stories with a basement that could be finished into an additional apartment. The house would need a complete gut job. Finishes would be medium luxury with granite countertops, two more bathrooms so that there is one on each floor, laundry in the Unit, and either hardwood or laminate flooring. The top floor has bedrooms and an unfinished attic that takes up half of this floor that should be included. I am looking at something like this property: https://www.zillow.com/homedet...

I understand that it may be difficult to give a fair estimate, but I am curious to know how much investors in Boston are spending on complete gut renovations since I am starting and don't really know what ranges look like. I would love to hear about your experience in this area in general.

[Jaron Walling]

$499k, 119 DOM, why is it not selling? 

From an investors prospective and rental prospective I'd step back and consider the overall strategy. Quickly zooming through those listing photos most of that house doesn't need a full demo. If you want a cash-flow rental something has to give; you can't have the luxury granite countertops, fancy tile flooring, and highest end finishes and cut costs at the same time. It's value add if you're aiming to create a 3-unit but it also can't cost an arm and leg. If the layout of that property doesn't work... you'll be looking at flip. There's a main plumbing stack in the property somewhere. Replacing or moving that to add a bathroom will very expensive. Estimating a gut remodel at $55k x3= $165k. Add you're holding costs of 3-6 months, upfront costs, and anything else so it gets expensive fast. 

We love old houses. That's all I've ever remodeled so far. If I'm in your shoes I have a team supporting these decisions (agent, lender, contractors) and skin in the game. This could even be a house-hack. Either way there's a bright light at the end of the tunnel and numbers and contractors guiding you on a path. Adding a bathroom and fixing electrical issues would be my #1 and #2 projects to get quotes. Inspect the HVAC and roof. Those are big ticket items. If the numbers start to balloon and the budget is blown I'm passing on the property and looking for another opportunities. Cheers.