Minimum electrical upgrades to sell a house

Status
Not open for further replies.
V

VoltageHz

Member
Location
NJ
I have a buddy who inherited an old 3 family house, he is looking to sell it in a couple years. He's going to live there for a while and do plaster work and get some Plumbing and HVAC contractors to try and make the house more sellable.

A new service is definitely needed and will be straightforward. The problem comes into play with requiring the 2nd and 3rd floor apartments, since there is no access (the 3rd floor is the attic, there is nothing accessible above it).

The house is wired in BX so there is a good chance 3 prong receptacles can be installed (where they haven't been hacked in already). The problem is the kitchen and bathroom circuits.

So my question is this, for a friend, how much should I recommend he upgrade in order to sell the house? Is a home inspector going to cite the kitchens not being up to code and will that reduce resale value? How far should he go without spending more than he'll get back in resale value?

Thanks.
 
R

Riograndeelectric

Senior Member
Location
Lakewood Colorado
I am not sure if the original BX type ac Armor as well as the metal boxes & fittings were listed as EGC.
it is my opion thet you cna not use the Armor as an EGC. when I run into this wiring method I treat as an ungrounded cable and install GFCI'S
 
V

VoltageHz

Member
Location
NJ
Riograndeelectric said:
I am not sure if the original BX type ac Armor as well as the metal boxes & fittings were listed as EGC.
it is my opion thet you cna not use the Armor as an EGC. when I run into this wiring method I treat as an ungrounded cable and install GFCI'S
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm not sure what it is, I'm just going by what I was told. I'll change my statement from "a good chance" to "a chance" :D

weehawken said:
you should find infomation about NJ rehab codes, that way may be you cam help you re friend better
Click to expand...
Hey Mr. Weehawken, I just got done working at a hospital not too far away from you in Hoboken, small world.

As for NJ Rehab codes, how do they apply to this situation? He would be able to sell the house as is, correct? His main concern is to put some money into the house to make it more attractive to the buyer in order sell it for a higher price.

Thanks for the help!
 
S

satcom

Senior Member
VoltageHz said:
Yeah, I'm not sure what it is, I'm just going by what I was told. I'll change my statement from "a good chance" to "a chance" :D


His main concern is to put some money into the house to make it more attractive to the buyer in order sell it for a higher price.

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

New mail box, new door knocker, new tiolet seat, and plenty of paint.
 
R

RonPecinaJr

Senior Member
Location
Rahway, NJ
VoltageHz said:
So you don't think any electrical work could raise the resale?
Click to expand...

New service is a great selling point because let's face it bad electrical increases the chance of a fire. Newly renovated kitchens and bathrooms offer the best return on investment so you're friend may want to start there. GFCI's, exhaust fans, that sort of thing.

As for the NJ rehab code just know this, new circuits in rooms other than kitchens and baths, need to be AFCI protected. See NEC 210.12 for more info on that.

Good luck.
 
R

rodneee

Senior Member
electrical upgrades are nice but the only people who think they increase the resale value of a home are those in the electrical industry. don't take my word ask those in real estate sales; they will tell you new kitchens and baths are the most appealing to potential homebuyers.
 
growler

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
VoltageHz said:
So my question is this, for a friend, how much should I recommend he upgrade in order to sell the house? Is a home inspector going to cite the kitchens not being up to code and will that reduce resale value? How far should he go without spending more than he'll get back in resale value?
Click to expand...

From what I have seen in the remodeling business the location of the house and the value of the homes in close proximity to the property decide how much you can spend and recover at the time of sale.

First you find out how much a home in good shape in the area would sell for. Then you find out how much it would cost to put your house in this type of condition and see if it's worth it. In some areas no matter how much work you do you are not going to increase the value of a house by a substantial amount so all this work would be a waste of time and money.

Have your friend do a little leg work and talk to some real estate people and find out what it's possible to do with the property.
 
V

VoltageHz

Member
Location
NJ
I took a look at it and it's even worse than I thought. Many of the panels are FPE. The sub panels feeding each unit are only fed with a 10-2, they used a jumper to energize the other bus lol :D
 
readydave8

readydave8

re member
Location
Clarkesville, Georgia
Occupation
electrician
the electrical upgrades may not add much to the resale value of the house but may make it more attractive to more prospective buyers and thus easier to sell at a reasonable price.
 
V

VoltageHz

Member
Location
NJ
readydave8 said:
the electrical upgrades may not add much to the resale value of the house but may make it more attractive to more prospective buyers and thus easier to sell at a reasonable price.
Click to expand...

That's exactly it.

And as I look I see more and more unattractive stuff, but the price to fix it goes up and up. It seems like a toss up.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top