Chicago Condo Living

Often in big cities, it’s difficult to find affordable housing and sometimes you need to purchase a high-rise condo that’s got the location you want without the amenities before renovation. Even then, renovating a condo can be complicated. Here are some tips on remodeling your new apartment in Chicago.

Factors & Challenges

Building and renovating a unit in a high-rise is by definition more difficult than a single family home partially due to labor costs, building codes, and elevator usage to bring materials up and down the elevator to the condo. Before renovating you should expect your kitchen, bathroom, or flooring to be up to 75% more expensive than a small town single family home construction.

That being said, your condo is often not as large as a single family home – and that’s good. The main factor you’re trading for space is location and convenience, so when you do decide to remodel keep in mind the size of your unit and that the furnishings will be more expensive but with less space to cover.

Be thrifty in your renovation and take stock of what you can or are willing to keep as adding new cabinets many not be such a smart idea. Also consider the quality of your contractor and know that by choosing Emerald Builders you’ll have one of the best remodelers in town. With a combined 55+ years of experience, our professionals are here to answer any questions and go above and beyond to make your renovation a success

Return on Investment

The good news is that in a big city, prices can only go up. If you purchased an outdated unit and use an approved, licensed contractor like Emerald Builders you are basically guaranteed to have a return on investment post renovation if you ever decide to sell and upgrade. Discuss your plans well with your contractor, make sure you check with your association and that all your plans are approved, and cover all your bases.
Remember that as long as you’re not moving plumbing or electrical, you may not need permission from the association but it’s always good to be communicative regardless.
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