I am new to renovation and where should I start?
Renovations can be big or small and if you are just starting out we’ve found it’s a good idea to start small. Before you are going to put yourself into the deep end, by starting small you can decide if you really like renovation.
Remember, it is a learning experience and I can promise you that there’s a lot to learn and its easier with a small chunk at a time.
With a small renovation job, you can finish quickly and this gives you confidence to move on to something bigger.
So, How to get started?
The quickest and easiest type of renovation is cosmetic – things you can do to change the appearance with no structural work involved.
Types of cosmetic renovations include
- Weeding and tidying the garden
- Adding plants
- Pruning trees
- General cleaning
- Repainting – inside and out
- Replacing door handles
- Replacing / painting kitchen cupboard doors
- Repainting… Continue Reading…
How to pick good trades?
Finding the person to do the best job can be challenging. For successful renovation you need to start collecting good trades to be part of your team. You may know some already and that’s fantastic! However the vast majority of first time renovators won’t. You need to learn how to judge the trades and their quality of work.
On our renovation journey we’ve found some absolutely fantastic tradespeople (and a few not so good).
Here are some things we’ve learned:
Ask for referrals
Ask friends, family and neighbours if they know any good trades
Are they local?
Often it’s a lot easier to get quotes from locals as they can drop by between jobs to give you the quote and also carry out the work.
Can you talk to them easily and ask them questions?
Some trades like to keep all their knowledge a secret while others… Continue Reading…
How to get the bank to pay for your renovation?
This is the method that we use and it works well for us. However before using this method you should speak with your financial adviser, accountant, etc to completely understand how it works and suit your needs.
Here is how it works. You have a house, and have some equities in it. You go and see the bank and ask them can you borrow the money to the maximum LVR. This could be 80% to 95%. Yes I know, you need to pay mortgage insurance if you go above 80%, but work it out with your accountant, this may give you the additional funding you need to finish the task.
Let’s say, the house is worth $500k and you have a loan of $350k already. Your equity is $150k. If you borrow 80%, you can get $50k out, if… Continue Reading…
The cold hard facts about renovating and how to beat them
You’ve probably heard people telling you how much profit they’ve made from renovating and others who say it’s been a complete disaster.
Who’s right? Well, both can be right.
From our experience, renovating can be a steep learning experience (otherwise known as a minor disaster) and a huge success. If we hadn’t made some mistakes along the way we wouldn’t have learned and moved on to success.
However, there are a few hard facts that you need to know before you embark on your renovating project. These are things we’ve learned through experience and we’re still learning.
Purchase under market value
You may have heard the phrase “the profit is in the purchase” and this is so true! You need to know the market so well that you’ll know a bargain when you see it and specifically when it’s under market… Continue Reading…
The treasure under the overgrowth
An example of treasure after a clean up.
When looking at properties, look for the hidden treasures (which means you have to see the diamond underneath the dirt). It’s easy when you know what to look for.
One of our favourite types of properties are the ones where you can’t see the house because of the overgrown trees and garden. These are the diamonds.
One reason they’re such a gem is the general population won’t even bother inspecting them. They may see the property advertised and it may be at the right price, but when they drive by and can’t see the house for the trees, they won’t bother inspecting it.
You need to remember that the majority of people lack the time or energy to bother with having trees chopped down and cleaning up… Continue Reading…
