Renovate to suit the area
One important aspect of renovating is to match the renovation to the neighbour area.
What does this mean and why is it important?
This means you need to know the people in the area and what’s expected in a property. For example, in some suburbs the norm in kitchens is granite benchtops, while in other areas laminate benchtops are perfectly acceptable.
It’s important because you don’t want to spend excessively when the market won’t pay for it. As above, there’s no point spending extra on granite benchtops in a suburb where laminate is acceptable because the market won’t pay extra for granite and you’ve spent money you’re unlikely to recover.
So how do you know what suits the area?
There are a few different ways we’ve discovered to work this out.
Using the net, have a look at the sold properties in the area… Continue Reading…
Remember the humble garage
The garage doesn’t matter right? It’s not really part of the house so no need to put any effort into renovating it…think again.
Even though you may think the garage isn’t important, it IS important to purchasers and/or renters. Think about it…
- It’s somewhere they’ll park their car
- People often use it for storage
- Other people use it as a workshop or craft area
- And many more other use
So it seems worthwhile and more appealing if it’s in a good condition and well lit. There’s nothing worse than being afraid to go into the garage because it’s dark with weeds growing through the cracks.
You don’t have to go all out and spend a fortune, just enough to make it neat. Here are some tips:
Internal walls falling down or non-existent? Throw up some plasterboard.
No ceiling? Add one
Dull coloured walls? Add a coat of light coloured paint.
Weeds growing through the cracks? Remove or spray with weed… Continue Reading…
Selecting and installing smoke alarms?
Smoke Alarm
The warning provided by smoke alarms has been responsible for saving thousands of lives and homes throughout the world. All of my properties have smoke alarm(s) installed and regularly tested.
So, how do they work?
There are two types of smoke alarms, these being ionisation and photo-electric, and each detect smoke differently.
Ionisation alarms use a small amount of radioactive material to ionise air in the sensing chamber. Under normal operation, the ionised air chamber becomes conductive. When smoke exists and enters into the chamber, the sensing chamber becomes less conductive and triggers the alarm.
Photo-electric smoke alarms use a light emitting diode and a light sensitive sensor in the sensing chamber. When smoke exists, the smoke particles block the light and trigger the alarm.
And which one should I use?
I did some research and according to the… Continue Reading…
How to have a brighter, lighter and more appealing home?
Adding more light not only makes a property look bigger, it makes the house more appealing and feel homey. Natural light is best but if you’re on a tight budget with limited time frame there are some simple solutions to create a lighter atmosphere. Start with the basics to see if these are enough and if not, you can work on the more complex ideas at the bottom of this article.
- Take down any curtains, raise blinds and open the doors to see how much natural light you have to work with and make an assessment.
- What colour and material is the flooring? Lighter coloured flooring in any material will make your property looks brighter. Lighter coloured wood or floating floorboards will reflect the most light.
- Are the ceilings dull and faded? Repaint with ceiling white for immediate brightness.
- Are the walls… Continue Reading…
How to remove wallpaper
Click photo to enlarge
Buying a “renovator’s delight” property could mean you may have some very unattractive wallpaper on the walls, and if you’re really lucky you may find two layers of wallpaper on the one wall!
Don’t let this turn you off because removing wallpaper in most cases is a fairly simple process, although it can be rather messy. Also, look at the value it will add to the property. Does that get you excited?
- As the underlying wall surface could be plasterboard (plaster sheets between paper), or not properly unsealed (eg horsehair plasterboard), you need to take care not to damage these surfaces when removing wallpaper.
- First have a look at the wallpaper and see if there are any corners peeling off. If so, try peeling it back and you… Continue Reading…
