Sponsor Unit

The Scope: EVERYTHING!!! This means new electric, plumbing, walls, lighting fixtures, kitchen and bathrooms.  

I bought a sponsor unit in a co-op building in Chelsea.  So what is a sponsor unit? A sponsor unit is an apartment that is owned by the original owner of a building, who could not sell the unit because he had a rent control tenant who did not purchase the unit at the time of conversion. The “owner” continues to collect the rent from the tenant and is responsible for maintenance and fees to co-op association. The “owner” cannot sell the apartment until the rental tenant vacates the apartment. In the case of the apartment I bought, the tenant vacated upon his death. He was in his mid eighties and lived in the apartment for over 50 years. Once vacated the sponsor can transition the apartment out of the rent control cycle and sell the apartment.

Needless to say, the apartment had not been renovated in more than fifty years - hence it needed EVERYTHING!!

So where do you start with a renovation? At the beginning of course?  Hopefully you read my Let’s Renovate post; it will give you some good direction on starting your renovation.

Careful planning is essential and you should start with your budget. How much money do you have to spend? This is a very crucial part of the project and I must warn you that slippage and overspending WILL occur not only on materials, but also due to additional work required by the contractors, that were not initially scoped out. When I started this project I thought I had budgeted properly; captured all the materials I would need with associated costs; fair estimates for the general contractor, electrician, plumber; and the necessary permits.