Defining renovation planning scope for a $1.29m New York townhouse

[AdaHope]

The surprise was how little the quotes had in common. I’m considering a four-bedroom New York townhouse priced at about $1,290,000, and firms using the term “renovation planning” are offering very different levels of involvement.

If this is only purchase support, I want the scope to identify the transaction tasks, records kept and person responsible through closing. If it includes genuine renovation planning, it should also specify site review, proposed-work assessment, preliminary budgets, deliverables and what continues after outside specialists are introduced.

What else should I require in writing regarding fees, response times, exclusions, local knowledge and cover when the main contact is unavailable? Concrete New York examples would be useful.

 

[readTheEcho]

First separate purchase support from actual renovation planning. A useful quote should say who reviews the proposed work, what site or document assessment is included, which cost assumptions are preliminary, and whether coordination continues after introductions. It should also list exclusions, payment milestones and expected response times.

For the transaction period, insist on one named person maintaining the document trail and recording decisions. “We can connect you with someone” is not the same deliverable.

 

[testTheLane]

The missing fact is what renovation you have in mind. Cosmetic work, structural changes and a full reconfiguration require very different planning, so no provider can define a meaningful scope from the purchase price and bedroom count alone.

I’d ask each one to respond to the same short brief: intended work, desired start, available cash, access before closing and what happens if early estimates exceed the budget. That makes the quotes comparable.

 

[otis.elm]

I partly disagree that one person should remain accountable for everything between offer and closing. That sounds reassuring, but transaction coordination and technical renovation decisions may sit with different people. Better to require a responsibility table showing each task, decision-maker, deadline and handoff.

Before paying, request a sample schedule and redacted example of the proposed document trail, then independently verify any claimed local experience. Also put the fallback in writing: who takes over, whether unfinished work is refunded, and how quickly urgent questions receive a response.