A smart cosmetic renovation is one of the most effective ways to completely transform a home on a modest budget. There are many different approaches to take, but you can be sure that paint will figure prominently.It’s cheap, it’s a straightforward DIY project and you can achieve miracles in just a weekend of hard yakka.
On a limited budget, you want to be looking at easy gains for minimum outlay and maximum impact. If you’re renovating to make a profit, as opposed to improving your own home, you need to educate yourself about what style of renovation suits your area: i.e, what do your potential buyers or tenants want? Laminate benchtops and budget flooring might be perfectly adequate for some properties but won’t cut it for a $1 million-plus property.
Whirlwind magic
Just to give you an indication of how much a quick, targeted cosmetic renovation can boost the value of your property, I’ve dipped into the archives to pull out this renovation from 2012. I spent around $2,500 on cosmetic improvements to this one-bedroom unit in Sydney’s northern beaches that the owners were gearing up to sell. But you’d never believe it was such a meagre budget when you see the transformation.
BEFORE kitchenAFTER kitchenBEFORE loungeAFTER loungeBEFORE bedroomAFTER bedroom
I painted throughout, steam-cleaned the carpets, gave the bathroom an industrial scrub, updated the light fittings and window coverings, and treated the kitchen to a quick cosmetic refresh. For that, I simply painted over the old tiles and cupboards with specialty White Knight paint, resurfaced the benchtops using the Rust-Oleum countertop transformations kit, added a couple of overhead cupboards and updated all the cupboard handles to some nice, modern ones.
None of the improvements were particularly complex, so any competent DIYer could tackle them. And it’s a quick makeover and styling effort that is pretty much timeless. Pre-reno the apartment was valued at $380,000. One week after the makeover was complete the owners accepted an offer of $412,500. Not a bad profit for a few days’ effort. I can only imagine what that Dee Why one-bedder would sell for in today’s heated Sydney market!
Do you watch The Block every week thinking “I could do that’? Want to get cracking on making money with your own renovations? I’m excited to announce an amazing competition, where one lucky reader will win a spot on the Rapid Renovation Formula (RRF) program valued at $4,975, including a live, two-day Boutique Renovation Boot Camp in Sydney this November.
What you will learn
When it comes to renovating property for wealth, a ‘one size fits all’ approach is not a viable strategy. In fact, every individual will have slightly different needs and resources, and will be working in a slightly different market.
Over the course of over 110 renovations, course author Dr Naomi Findlay (resident expert on our sister site Reno Addict) has optimised a proven step by step formula for maximising your profit when renovating property. She’s combined this with an unrivalled suite of templates and tools to create the Rapid Renovation Formula.
Dr Naomi Findlay, creator of the Rapid Renovation Formula
The course gives you access to seven printed resources, monthly phone calls with Naomi, software, access to exclusive discounts from national suppliers, introductions to Naomi’s personal consulting team, styling and finishing formulas, a two-day live bootcamp and much much more! After completing the course, you will have the tools, team and formula to renovate for wealth, and a formula you can use renovation after renovation.
How to enter
We want to get an idea of your renovator potential!
Find a property listing on realestate.com.au that looks like a good renovator.
In 1,000 words or less, tell us what you would do would/not do to this property in a renovation to increase its value and eventual sale price. Include a basic floorplan showing any changes you’d propose to make (you will not be judged on how slick this is; you’re even welcome to scan in and email a hand drawn plan!). We love seeing your ideas so you can also include a link to a Pinterest board with your inspiration for the renovation. Explain the different elements using comments on the images. Please include the projected or estimated post-renovation sale price of the property.
The top 3 finalists will be judged by myself and RRFauthor and educator Naomi, based on:
The level of innovation
The ability to design and style to meet the market expectations.
The top three entries willthen be posted on the Interiors Addict Facebook page for a people’s vote.
Don’t hang around because entries close at midnight AEST on 30 September 2016. The winner will be announced on Interiors Addict on 5 October 2016.
By Lana Taylor (one-third of Three Birds Renovations)
You’ve all heard the cliché that “you don’t plan to fail, you fail to plan”. Well, in the world of property flipping that couldn’t be more accurate. And the most crucial thing to realise is that most of this planning has to take place before the house is even yours – in the settlement period (which usually takes about six weeks).
So for all you budding flippers out there, get your notepad and pencil out as I interview our Operations Guru-slash-Standover-Woman, Erin Cayless, to share the 10 steps to success when planning a 30-day flip. And even if you’re not flipping a house, just renovating your own home, you might pick up some tips on how to make your reno as fast and painless as possible. There’s nothing worse than a home reno that drags on ’til the cows come home — all that dust!!
Lana: HOW IMPORTANT IS THE PLANNING STAGE OF A RENO?
Erin: In my opinion it is the most important part of a reno. Without thorough and detailed planning, the reno will fall apart and run over budget. This is especially important if you are running the reno yourself to maximise your profit rather than paying a builder to do it.
Lana: WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO PLANNING A 30-DAY FLIP?
Erin: I think there are 10 main steps:
Step 1. Before buying the house, contact a local certifier to get the 149 certificate checked. This will confirm that the renos you want to do at that property, can be done e.g – a 149 will tell you if you are in a flood zone which could mean you need to get a DA (Development Application) and that could take months. That would be a showstopper for us as we are only interested in doing renos that are either Exempt or Complying Development as a CDC can get passed through council much more quickly.
Step 2. Assuming you get past step 1 and have purchased the house ie – exchanged contracts, you need to spend time at the property to work out exactly what changes you want to make. This will include drawing up a new floor plan. We hand-draw our plans using a pencil, ruler and rubber (it’s easier and more enjoyable than you think). Remember, you don’t actually own the property yet, as it hasn’t settled, so you need to negotiate “access visits” with the agent. On one of our projects, the house was already vacant and the owners were happy for us to spend as much time in the house as we wanted. This is the ideal scenario as it gives you maximum time for planning. If the house is still occupied, you should still get at least 2 access visits and if that’s the case, try and stretch them out to be several hours in duration.
Step 3. If your reno plans extend beyond replacing just fixtures and finishes you may need to engage a structural engineer. If so, meet them onsite to discuss your hand-drawn plans and see if they are possible. The engineer will tell you how much significant structural work will be required to meet your reno vision.
Step 4. Meet a builder on site to run through your plans. Share with him any feedback your engineer may have given you. Give the builder a written scope of work (which you may have adjusted during his visit) and ask him to come back with a quote. You should repeat this step with a few builders to get comparative costs. Once you’ve received all the quotes from your builders, check to see if they are within your budget. Discuss with each builder if necessary – especially if you need to bring costs down. Appoint a builder.
Step 5. Engage a draftsman to draw up official plans for the certifier and ask your engineer to return to the site so he can prepare final drawings. Give the draftsman’s and engineer’s plans to the certifier for the CDC (Complying Development Certificate) application. The sooner you get the plans to your certifier the better. This also allows the certifier time to give you feedback on your plans if they think they need adjusting in order to get them through council.
A Three Birds reno BEFORE
Step 6. Choose a proposed start date for your reno. You can’t start your reno the day after settlement because you need to wait for council to issue the CDC, and that process can’t commence until they you are confirmed as the new owner. Get your solicitor to send a letter to your certifier confirming you as the new owners. How long the council will take to issue your CDC depends on the council and can take between 2-21 days. Ask your certifier to give their best estimate on how long approval will take based on the complexity of your plans and their experience with that council. Use that as your start date.
Step 7. Sit down with your builder and develop a week-by-week, day-by-day reno schedule with him. His work schedule will determine when other trades need to be onsite so it’s important to sort this out first before locking in other trades like plumbers and electricians.
Step 8. Co-ordinate all other trades (eg – tiler, plumber, electrician, landscaper, glazier, painter) to meet you on site and quote. Give them a written scope of work including the dates they are required on site (which you should have worked out with your builder prior). Get a few different companies to quote for the same scope of work so you can compare costs, then appoint your Tradies. This should ideally happen 2-3 weeks out from settlement.
Step 9. Determine what fixtures and fittings you want and can afford. You need to know this so you can order in advance and have them ready onsite when the Trades need them. Some things have long lead-times (eg window shutters) so you need to place orders in the pre-settlement planning phase.
Step 10. You’ve settled on the property and the house is yours. Get the letter from your solicitor (see step 8) and await your CDC. You may need to adjust your reno schedule based on exactly when the CDC comes through.
Lana: IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’VE EVER FORGOTTEN TO DO?
Erin: Ordering the porta-loo and working out where to put the man-hole — gets me at every house.
It’s finally time to reveal the finished reno and let you know how much money was made on the investment. In this episode, we have more keeping-it-real information and advice from Naomi Findlay and we also hear from real estate agent, Damon Sellis. We think the house is transformed and looks amazing! We think you’ll agree…
An offer was received and accepted after a mere five days on the market. Over 135 parties went through the property during open inspection during that time.
The final project profit, after all costs were taken into consideration, was $25,000. Not bad for six weeks’ work!
“What makes it all happen is a great team of trades and a great agent working hard on the overall goals of the project,” Naomi says. “Vision and design obviously play a key role but it must always stay grounded on the goal of the venture and the business. It is not all about design. It must be grounded in market research and a budget. Top that off with some targeted styling and you are away!”
This week, Naomi talks about the importance of having a contingency fund because unexpected things do (always!) go wrong or crop up and require more cash! There’s also drama with some very stubborn wallpaper glue, but it’s not all negative! Watch the video for the full story.
If you haven’t already, watch part 1 and part 2 of the series first. The fourth and final part is coming soon! We’d love to know if you enjoyed this series and what else you’d like to learn about renovating? Please comment below.
Do you buy, renovate and sell Aussie homes for a living? Channel 7 is looking for expert renovators to join an on-camera team for a new program. The right person must have an extensive background in residential property renovations. If you consider yourself a ‘flipper’ then this could be right for you.
You should be able to explain concepts easily to a broad audience and be willing to share your knowledge. If you are selected to be part of the team you must be comfortable on camera and confident sharing your opinions on what work/changes/renovations will help a property’s value and what traps there are when renovating.
