Tweet
Hi
I thought I would share with you all my first experience of renovating a property.
I think we did ok, considering it is the first renovation.
Firstly I would like to say thank you to everyone that has answered my relentless questions over the past couple of months. A special thanks to Ron, Steve, James, Niall and Toby who shared their knowledge of property with me and who answered my questions and helped me along the way, thanks guys.
Some people probably wouldn’t have touched this deal with a barge pole but it was very important for me to secure this deal and see it through to expand my knowledge and to kick start my investing career. We went unconditional on the property on the 06/12/06. We paid $240k, $12k deposit leaving a mortgage of $228k. Property valuation on the 30/10/2006 was $255k. Rental appraisal at time of purchase was $290-$310 pw. We settled on the 11/01/2007 and tenants moved in on the 17/01/2007 on a 12 month contract paying $335 pw. We had early access on the property and work started on the 06/12/2006.
I got all trades people to do the work and personally spent about 60 hours at the property cleaning and tidying. I spent one whole day loading and taking all the rubbish to the landfill and clearing the section.
I got all the following done: interior painting, new carpet and lino, new light fittings, changed all the power points and light switches, put in a dishwasher, new woodburner with heat transfer kit, new garage door, changed all the door handles, redone the bathroom.
This was all the costs:
The budget at the start was 15k however due to safety issues with the open fire I revised the budget to 24k and decided to put in the log burner and everything escalated a bit after that. We ended up on $28158.08. A bit shocking looking at the figure like that.
However I don’t have any regrets and have learned a hell of a lot from this experience.
I got a valuation done after the reno work which came in at $278k which was disappointing however that can go up if I do a bit more work on the exterior and some landscaping.
Looking at all the figures etc I do feel that I probably over capitalized a bit, but what do you do? I got all the work done for the valuer but next time I will definitely do things a bit different.
I have also learnt to keep looking at other deals whilst all the work is being done. Throughout this project I have been negotiating a fantastic deal that I am still busy with. I would have missed it if I were more at this house that I was.
Any case ill try and upload the pics now so you can see the before and the after.
Cheers
Robin
I thought I would share with you all my first experience of renovating a property.
I think we did ok, considering it is the first renovation.
Firstly I would like to say thank you to everyone that has answered my relentless questions over the past couple of months. A special thanks to Ron, Steve, James, Niall and Toby who shared their knowledge of property with me and who answered my questions and helped me along the way, thanks guys.
Some people probably wouldn’t have touched this deal with a barge pole but it was very important for me to secure this deal and see it through to expand my knowledge and to kick start my investing career. We went unconditional on the property on the 06/12/06. We paid $240k, $12k deposit leaving a mortgage of $228k. Property valuation on the 30/10/2006 was $255k. Rental appraisal at time of purchase was $290-$310 pw. We settled on the 11/01/2007 and tenants moved in on the 17/01/2007 on a 12 month contract paying $335 pw. We had early access on the property and work started on the 06/12/2006.
I got all trades people to do the work and personally spent about 60 hours at the property cleaning and tidying. I spent one whole day loading and taking all the rubbish to the landfill and clearing the section.
I got all the following done: interior painting, new carpet and lino, new light fittings, changed all the power points and light switches, put in a dishwasher, new woodburner with heat transfer kit, new garage door, changed all the door handles, redone the bathroom.
This was all the costs:
- Legal, Inspections, Valuationts etc. $2645.56
- Door handles, light switches, power points, door stoppers, curtains, nets, blinds,bathroom + toilet accessories, bag of concrete, curtain wires $1742.44
- Dishwasher $639.98
- Wood burner + heat transfer kit $4315
- Garage door $850
- Rubbish removal $210.20
- Painting + prep + supply of paint for outside touch up $6444.25
- Builder $2370.15
- Electrician $1469.75
- Plumber including shower lining etc + vanity $1678.94
- General handyman replacement of door handles, cutter fixing, welding etc. $825.95
- New carpet + lino $4965.86
The budget at the start was 15k however due to safety issues with the open fire I revised the budget to 24k and decided to put in the log burner and everything escalated a bit after that. We ended up on $28158.08. A bit shocking looking at the figure like that.
However I don’t have any regrets and have learned a hell of a lot from this experience.
- Stay within the budget
- More expensive items won’t necessarily bring up the value ie the light fittings and door handles I could have got cheaper options.
- 2nd hand/trademe isn’t always the cheapest, shop around.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for someone’s opinion, I got other investors to look at the property and asked for their opinion
I got a valuation done after the reno work which came in at $278k which was disappointing however that can go up if I do a bit more work on the exterior and some landscaping.
Looking at all the figures etc I do feel that I probably over capitalized a bit, but what do you do? I got all the work done for the valuer but next time I will definitely do things a bit different.
I have also learnt to keep looking at other deals whilst all the work is being done. Throughout this project I have been negotiating a fantastic deal that I am still busy with. I would have missed it if I were more at this house that I was.
Any case ill try and upload the pics now so you can see the before and the after.
Cheers
Robin
Comment