Bowery Apartment's Quickie Renovation Not Worth the Money?

We've seen it happen a million times: Apartment gets bought, five minutes goes by, apartment gets put back on the market at a higher price after a "renovation." Usually we're left in the dark about what actually got upgraded (justifying the rise in price), but not this time! Check out the new-to-market listing at 195 Bowery, the tower just north of Delancey Street that's home to some Lower East Side trophies with stunning views. The two-bed, two-bath, 1,621-square-foot apartment is asking $2.8 million. A tipster calls bullshit:

This apartment only changed owners 2 months ago for $2m and is now listed for $2.8 claiming a gut renovation. The only changes made were darkening the floor stain, changing the paint, and adding the chandeliers which certainly doesn't warrant an $800k profit in 8 weeks. The original owner is one of my best friends, and I have spent plenty of time in that apartment. There were no changes made to the kitchen, bath, or anything else I can see other than what I said above. The home theater system was also installed by my friend, not as a part of this flip project.

The photos from the old listing are preserved on StreetEasy, and our tipster isn't 100% correct in saying those were the only changes. For example, check out the sweet new staging furniture in the living room!

And the second bedroom is now all sexy with its ghost chair and zebra skin!

And the ugly art is gone from the bathroom!

And the kitchen...OK, the kitchen is the same.

So, worth an extra $800k after all that?
· Listing: 195 Bowery #14 [CORE]
· Old Listing: 194 Bowery #14 [StreetEasy]