All Forum Posts by: Michael P.

I am in process of developing at 2300 sq ft property in New York City to a 4100 sq ft property through a gut renovation/extension, including adding a 3rd floor to the building.  

The building will be contemporary in terms of design, so some commercial style windows will be needed.  This is my first development of this property type, so I was curious to hear which vendors delivered good value and design for similar projects.  While I could be wrong, I don't believe typical stuff from Anderson, pella and marvin are suitable for this design.

As an investory thinking about the project in the context of a flip, maintaining a lower cost basis is a priority of mine, while delivering on thermo-efficiency and design.  

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Hi All - I'm an investor embarking on a gut renovation/extension of a 2300 sq foot 2 family house to a 4100 sq ft 4 family house.  By virtue of increasing the units to 3 or more, I'm obligated to install a spinkler system in accordance with New York City code.  

I am looking for advice on what type of sprinkler system to pursue in order to be in a position to meet code while not blowing out my budget. 

Opinions on approach, systems are well appreciated.

Thanks everyone, by virtue of everyone's input, it seems appropriate to install a natural gas fired water tank because in new york city upfront costs and more reasonable for me (upfront capital costs), while natural gas vs. electric costs are more advantageous for tenants over time.

This post has been very helpful.  I appreciate everyone's thoughtful contribution.   

Thanks everyone, seems like there's good perspective from all sides and here are my takeaways.

1.  Good insulation/envelope for the house;

2. Maximize incentives to offset upfront costs;

2. Price out both alternatives (forced air and heat pumps) and realize that with heat pumps you need back up heat for the 10 cold days of the year in new york. 

Spoke with my architecht about duct based systems and he said that given our objective of adding a floor, we may get backed into limited space that doesn't allow for running ducts - so let's see.

In the worst case where ducts can't be run, then i guess it's good to see noone believes that heat pumps are a fatal flaw - just probably means that you have to deal with complaining tenants for 10 days a year...

Thanks to both. Long Island city. Got the benefit of infill zoning which extends Far from 1.25 to 1.65. 

Cost wise, it's expensive because building code goes commercial at 3 or more units. 

Hi All- 

I am gut renovating/expanding a 2300 square foot 2 family house into a 4100 sq. ft.  four family building.

Trying to decide which hot water system to install in each unit.  I am probably using heat pump systems for heating and cooling, so my needs to provide water for heating purposes will not be needed.  The property is located in New York City, so dealing with prickly tenants who lack patience should be assumed.

I have read about tank systems, tankless systems, etc.  For me it's pretty simple:  I want to (a) allocate the cost of hot water to tenants; (b) save on upfront capital costs to keep my budget in tact; (c) provide dependable hot water; and (d) check the box with long term investors I'm targeting for a flip of the property at completion.

Opinions are greatly appreciated especially from contractors/investors with low-rise multi-family experience in the northeast US.

Hi All  -

I am gut renovating a 2300 sq 2 family house into a 4 unit 4100 sq ft multi-family building.  I have the ability to start from scratch?  Assuming 3 units are about 1000 square feet and the fourth is 700 square feet, I can't decide what's the best value proposition for my investment.  The house is located in New York City.

My concerns are cold weather and dependability.  I will configure the HVAC system to provide each unit its own system in order to have the tenants pay for their own heating/cooling.  I have thought about heat pump/multi-splits, air handlers, etc.

At the end of the day, I am looking to flip this property and check the box with long term investors targeting this property.  What is the value play?