Last night’s Vandenberg-sponsored BRC Free Seminar was one of the biggest successes in BRC history. 

We’d like to thank our guest speaker, Zach Kaplan, all the attendees, and everyone involved for contributing to this very productive evening. We had a record attendance, and very generous feedback from the attendees. 

For those of you who missed it, the topic was “Renovations and Strategies to Maximize Your Townhouse Value.”

First, Dexter gave some tips and ideas. He gave strategies on destabilizing your rental units, adding square footage, maintaining or adding a stoop, and digging down and finishing your basement. He also spoke about some Renovation Don’ts:

1) Never allow a Rent-Stabilized apartment to remain so if it becomes vacant!

2) Don’t be too wildly creative with your renovation, creating too many half-floors and multiple landings.

3) Don’t do all your bathrooms in the exact same tile. Add some variety and interest.

4) Don’t overdo the kitchen and bathroom gadgets. Technology changes so quickly, and buyers may not like the gadgets in a few years. 

Then Zachary Kaplan, President of ZMK Group, spoke about how to assemble a team and organize any renovation, from small projects to large jobs. He emphasized getting your building permits and Landmarks approval before beginning a job, and gave sample pricing for various jobs – from relining a chimney to digging down a cellar. 

Zach also spoke about doing construction projects in stages. In one example, the owners were planning on adding an additional floor but decided they would rather budget for it in the future. So midway through renovations, ZMK and the architect put stairs, a bulkhead, and plumbing lines up to the future roof addition. That way, when the owners decided to do construction on the roof later on, the workers would be able to simply go upstairs without disrupting the rest of the house, and the construction materials could be elevated up the exterior. 

The Q and A lasted a good while, and then everyone mingled over wine and cheese. BRC participants got the chance to have 1-on-1 conversations with our speakers, and with each other. By the time we left, people were still mingling on the sidewalk outside, discussing their townhouse adventures.

We will be posting photos and video of the event soon, for those of you who missed it.

 If you don’t receive “Mondays with Dexter,” sign up here and be the first to hear about the next Vandenberg-sponsored BRC seminar!