Property Pros: All About Condo Renovations

This is a sponsored column by Jim Muldoon, a Northern Virginia native, Arlington resident and one of the real estate and remodeling experts at Legacy Home Improvement Consultants. Legacy HIC is your source for all real estate and home improvement needs. Please email with any questions or topics you would like covered.

Updating your condo you can improve your quality of life, make your condo stand out, and maximize your living space. Renovation tends to get overlooked by owners because the process takes more planning, but trust me it will not get overlooked by your resale value.

I always recommend starting off with contractor selection. Hiring a professional who has experience with condo renovations is important. Your property management, building engineer, and /or neighbors could be a good resource for referrals. 

Next, schedule a meeting with your property management and your contractor. There your contractor will provide his credentials and the plans for the project. Projects that involve structural change or adding a washer and dryer usually have to get approved by the board but most renovations can get approved right then. After the project gets approval, your contractor needs to get the following information:

• Contractor parking, access to the building, and the commercial elevator
• How much notice is needed for the start of the project and plumbing shut off
• Moving and other renovation schedules so the loading docks and commercial elevators are available
• Days and hours work can be conducted
• Contact information for the building engineer and contractors who have completed projects in the building before

Have a meeting in your condo with your building engineer and contractor. The engineer will be able to give you a lot of insight on what is going on behind the walls. This will eliminate change orders and vet that the vision you have for the final product is what you are going to get. They also usually have great tips for things they have seen in the past that help maximize space or how to get past hurdles with simple fixes.

A lot of my clients have said they get nervous that they will be disrupting their neighbors. Give your neighbors a heads up and you will be pleasantly surprised about how many of them will be supportive. Past clients have even gotten tips from neighbors about unexpected things that they uncovered during their own renovations and local amenities that can you can utilize while living space is lost during the renovation. One of the things we do to alleviate issues is talk with the neighbors who are in ear shot. We let them know the project timeframe, our efforts for keeping the common grounds clean, as well as our contact information if they need to get in touch with us. That face to face interaction about the project goes a long way.

Email me at [email protected] with any questions or topics you would like me to discuss. Be sure to follow us on Instagram @LegacyHomesDMV and like our Facebook page Legacy Home Improvements for project inspiration and breaking news.