Gutting and rehabbing an old historical building - any experience?

Anyone done this?

We own a nice duplex down condo with 3 full beds and bath which was full gut rehabbed and decorated right before we bought it. It was a rough area when we bought it in 2012, but now its gentrifying rapidly and we have Starbucks, Whole Foods, yoga studios and all vegan restaurants etc., all the trappings of yuppie town, and the place has gone up about 35% in value since then. A good investment, and one I wish to hold onto while it

 

gutting the interior can be pricy, especially if you don't know what you are doing. I'd get an experienced contractor to give you a quote, make sure to get references and he's licensed. Have to be careful about older homes though, they may have hidden issues that could be very costly (unsound structure, bad electrical, ect.)

 

Do these things get unearthed at the official inspection, or is it something I had to identify, or someone on my behalf?

 

sometimes the inspectors can catch obvious items, but they can't tell you if something is structurally unsound, just that you may want to get a professional to look at it. they'll hand you a list of items they see and recommend you fix. they aren't going to perform test other than turning on water and light switches.

 

That's interesting.

Who do you get in touch with? What type of professional would be able to perform these tests properly and sign off with credibility on it?

 

if you have a realtor, they would be able to give you some recommendations. other than that, go to the phone book or internet. a contractor would be able to give you good recommendations as to what would need to be done. be careful though, get a licensed contractor with lots of references. there are a lot of shady guys out there who will have no issue in screwing you over.

 

first though, get the home inspected before buying.

 

I watch Flip Or Flop a lot which has pretty much made me an expert in home renovations and one thing I can tell you for sure is that no matter how much you think its gonna cost to fix up the house it will end up being at least 3 times that much because you'll discover all kinds of new problems as youre doing the job

 

Here is a whole series of This Old House where they gut a house while being restricted on what they can do on the outside. As is typical of the show, it is probably a bit more than you're aiming for

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrA1-PxJOFQ&list=PLkJADc1qDrr88suF2tInQV04qoltjsIU_

 

also, since you say it's historical, check to see if it's on the historical building registry. if it is, then you'll have to take all sorts of precautions and be limited on what you can do to the building.

 

Yeah there is one in particular I am looking at that is a listed historical building. You have to apply for permission to alter the exterior in any way, the interior is fair game.

 

If you have a general idea of what you want to do, you can have a walk-through with a contractor to give you a rough estimate. You will get an inspection before purchase, but you don't want to shell out the money for it until you know you are wanting to buy. The first step is to get an idea of what you want to do and get a couple estimates.

 

I've made good money completely gutting a place, it's certainly the best way to add value to a home. But I was able to do 95% of the finishing work myself, which is why I made a heap of money.

That being said, if you do pay a contractor to do your work, it's essentially money in the bank in the form of equity.

 

I'm rehabilitating this goliath


It's a 14 unit condominium (I'm the board president). We've replaced the slate roof, the rubber flat roofs, And have installed almost all of the facilities. The place was turned in to condos in the early 80's. They used the cheapest materials they could find. We've been paying for it ever since.

My next step is to install LED parking lot lights and to up light the building.

 

Standard Home Inspectors are generally useless, especially Realtor referred ones. The reason they get referred is they don't throw a spanner in the way of the Realtor's commission grab.

Defineately research for a hands on independent General Contractor to do the inspection for you, preferably one who someone's judgement you trust has referred to you. He may not have the specific Home Inspection license but fear not, it's all a big con anyways and the Gen C will know far more than an Home Inspector and will have enough real time hands on experience to be able to redflag any major rework needed just by walking around the property. Home Inspectors don't stay Home Inspectors for long if they have a reputation for failing(read killing or even slowing down Realtors sales) inspections.

I know a termite guy who has Home Inspection & General Contr license. He has a few Realtor companies for clients and the deal is he does an Inspection for selling couples who are desperate for escrow to close cleanly - he lists a bunch of cosmetic repairs needed to pass inspection - they're over a barrel with the escrow clock ticking - he says he has a gen c license but is really swamped but could prolly fit it in and get them through escrow in time - drops a huge repair estimate on them. And then also gets to tent & fumigate the place with his termite license.

Great circular con.

 

Watch a few episodes of 'Holmes Inspections' on the HGTV channel. You'll get a gist for just how clueless & shady Home Inspectors are . They're failed General Contractors who couldn't hack it.

They know just enough to pass an exam though, so I put them slightly above Home Depot section leaders on the Construction totem pole lol

 

You never really know what you have until you open things up to remodel. I'd get the city building inspectors to look over any property before purchasing.

 

IMO, I definitely suggest that you find out whether the home is listed in the historical building registry and figure out the codes that the city or area the home is in has in place. Otherwise, if you don't follow the city codes you can be fined quite a bit if you don't adhere to what they allow (this is primarily referring to electrical work that might need to be done on the property) or even worse have to redo what you had previously done.

Also, as others have mentioned make sure that you get someone reliable to do the work. For example, if you have a contractor do an estimate of the property make sure that it is in print and not just written or scribbled about.

 

Are you closing on a place in Evanston or Winnetka/Glencoe?

My wife and I grew up on the north shore and are soon to be in the same position as you. Bought a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo in Fulton river district a couple of years ago but we looking to start a family soon and condo values in the area are skyrocketing so looking to possibly cash in while its such a sellers market and are now looking in north shore. Wife wants to be by the lake because she grew up by it, but that adds so much to property taxes...

Regarding your place, the first thing I'd do is check for zoning/restrictions on the property. As you probably know, the city and the north shore are crazy about that kind of stuff so I'd be careful to check first so you don't run into any legal issues down the road with construction/permits, etc.

Don't know of any contractors off the top of my head that specialize in historical rehabs but sounds like the kind of niche specialty that you'll want to make sure you get the right guy and not someone who is full of it re: their experience with such projects.