All Forum Posts by: Mala S.

Without seeing the plans/ possible issues, the second option sounds like a great idea. In addition, you should remove partition & open up the new kitchen area to living room. This should leave some space for dining table in the new open floor plan.

Get a pest control company in there asap to remove the dead animal. You can also get an exclusion done - this is when they look for all possible entry points in the property and plug them up. They used a combination of metal mesh and foam filler. I had this done for a smallish house and it cost about $1000 with 2 year guarantee. 

Sundri Khalsa how many bedrooms & baths? What is the condition of the interior? Dated? Recently renovated? Just ok? How much is the HOA? I’m trying to figure out the reason why it could be valued so low. The Beacon is a good building. Neighborhood isn’t the best but still decent and improving.

@Sundri Khalsa I can believe that you may own a condo in Jersey City that has negative cash flow. But I find it really hard to believe that you own a condo in Jersey City that has gone down in value so much. In case you are not so familiar with Jersey City market anymore - it is warm in the bad areas and super hot in the good ones. 

Be careful about trusting the advice of others regarding the value of your property. Do your own research. The info is all available for you online. If you tell us what neighborhood or zip code your property is located, you will get lots of info from people here on BP.

Without knowing location, my guess is you should sell - and when you do you will likely make out like a bandit ;)

Good luck!

@Cara Lonsdale yes, I agree, tenants won’t care for the floors like I would. But there are many old homes around here with old wood flooring that has held up pretty well. Although I’ve heard people warn against hardwood in the kitchen, I wonder if anyone has really had to replace hardwood due to extensive damage in the kitchen? And what was the worst culprit? Water? Wine stains?

I’m still deciding... if I go with wood polyurethane sounds like a must, thanks @Colleen F. !

Great, thanks! Just what I wanted to hear :)

Hi I am considering installing solid hardwood flooring in the kitchen of a high end rental unit. This is a 2Bd2Bath.

Aesthetically speaking, continuing the solid oak throughout the apartment into the kitchen will look amazing. Its an old building with lots of character. The floor will have rustic look, so some wear and tear in the kitchen over time won't look terrible.

I'm just wondering if people have experience with wood getting easily wrecked and needing to repair in the kitchen? If so, did you just refinish it? or did you have to completely replace it? Am I crazy for even considering this?

Thanks!

Wow, what a transformation! I love the butcher block and two tone cabinets in the kitchen.

For a small scale project like the renovation of a single family house, you should find an architect who will also be the designer on the project. This will streamline the process and will likely be a cost savings for you. That being said, architects work with designers all the time and are very familiar with it.

The architect can produce the scope of work. 

The architect may have some recommendations regarding good contractors to use, but ultimately it is the owners responsibility to choose and hire a contractor.

It is common to hire an architect for the construction administration of a project (but not a necessity). Note that construction admin is not the same as a project manager.  The architect will review shop drawings, fixtures and materials proposed for use by the contractor to ensure proper coordination, suitability and quality. This can help prevent the contractor from making costly mistakes and cutting corners by using substandard materials. The contractor will typically purchase all the materials. However, even if you hire the architect for construction admin, you will still need a project manager. If you are just starting out, this person may likely be you. Actually, if you are starting out and on a tight budget, it would not be unusual for you to handle the construction administration and project management during the construction phase and employ architect for plans, building department filings and design only.  

I hope that helps!

Also, regarding vetting guests: I’m assuming that you rent the place unfurnished, so the tenant has provided the furnishings. So he doesn’t want the place trashed as much as you do. He will vet the potential guests accordingly. As for people’s concerns about “instabook”: Instabook allows guests to book your place instantly (otherwise they need final approval from the host). You can set this feature to only allow guests with authenticated ID and positive reviews to book. I was wary to use this at first, but I got over it. I realized that I wasn’t doing anything additional to checking their ID was authenticated and they had positive reviews anyways. The only additional thing I was really doing was looking at their profile photo. And if you think you can tell from a profile photo if someone will be a good guest... well I think that might tread into a discrimination gray area... My point is, Instabook is not as scary as it sounds.