Hi All,
For those looking to gradually develop their property experience in buying an investment property what forms of value add do you think are most practical that are also worthwhile. I was considering general refurb – carpet, paint, and then perhaps adding an additional wall to say create a new room to also add income?
Thanks.
New bedroom – but only if it can come out of the original floor plan of the house. Ie making a 2 bed home into a 3 bed home provided their is the room. Or increasing a 1 bed unit into a 2. Adds value to property Because of the additional income stream that can come in.
But My top 5 things i would do first to a undesirable property or just to increase its value is. In no order of expense or preference.
Paint
Render
New kitchen
New bathroom tiling
Additional carparking or bedroom (If in areas like Sydney or inner Melbourne)
Then 5 lessor things i would consider
Flooring
Lighting
Landscapping
Outdoor area
Front fence / curb appeal
Our first couple we just painted, replaced the carpet in bedrooms, polished floors. One we painted the kitchen doors, put on new handles and put those timber look stick on strips on the floor in the kitchen.
These are easy things that you can do in a week and don't cost a fortune.
Adding/removing walls, new kitchen, bathroom all add value but take time and money. Depends if you want a quick tidy up or a full reno.
Hi, Yes you're on the right track with a general refurb. If you can add a room without extending the footprint (be it a bedroom or ensuite perhaps) then this is definitely a great way to add value. Just make sure it's not compromising on the overall use of the house. For instance, a 4 bedroom home with 2 lounges and one bathroom. You wouldn't change the use of one of the lounges to a bedroom as you would not have enough bathrooms or lounges for a 5 bedroom house.
I have had clients turn a large laundry into an ensuite and then they put the laundry in the garage. Another client turned an extra lounge area (one of 3) into a bedroom.
Another thing that could add value to a property – ie increase potential rental income if renting out, or increase potential sale price if selling (but won't necessarily add value in the eyes of a valuer) is to work out who your target markets are and tweak your reno to meet their requirements. Here is an article I wrote a while back which might help… http://hotspaceconsultants.com/_blog/Hotspace_Blog/post/Renovating_before_you_sell_Wondering_how_to_get_the_biggest_bang_for_your_buck/
Good luck!
Jane – Hotspace | Hotspace Consultants
http://hotspaceconsultants.com/home
Email Me | Phone MeRenovating for Profit specialist
Don't forget the outside. Tricking up the front of house can add a lot of value.
Carports and landscaping.
wilko1 wrote:New bedroom – but only if it can come out of the original floor plan of the house. Ie making a 2 bed home into a 3 bed home provided their is the room. Or increasing a 1 bed unit into a 2. Adds value to property Because of the additional income stream that can come in.But My top 5 things i would do first to a undesirable property or just to increase its value is. In no order of expense or preference.
Paint
Render
New kitchen
New bathroom tiling
Additional carparking or bedroom (If in areas like Sydney or inner Melbourne)
Then 5 lessor things i would consider
Flooring
Lighting
Landscapping
Outdoor area
Front fence / curb appeal
Thanks for the post. On adding an extra floor on the original floor plan (ie not increasing the size of the interior area) do you find this works much better for city housing than regional/rural locations? On not adjusting the original floor plan, do you recommend that because its just easier to do?
Do you find this is often difficult to do because if you could easily add an extra room on the original floor plan the original developer would have done so?
A lot of older housing used to have 2nd living areas. That was there actual design back 10-20,30 years ago. Not some much in fashion now days. So there is a better use for these spaces.
trying to fit a room in the original floor plan. Because more often then not you don't have to get council approval. Council approvals and development approval, if your buying the property to resell takes extra time, extra money and if your spending 1200-1500 sqm building a new room at say (10 sqm-12 sqm) that's a cost of 12k to 18k (for building alone) plus xouncil fees, drawing fees, interest.
It just doesn't have that good a return as say If you giprock off a 2nd lounge area for 1500 dollars.
wilko1 wrote:A lot of older housing used to have 2nd living areas. That was there actual design back 10-20,30 years ago. Not some much in fashion now days. So there is a better use for these spaces.trying to fit a room in the original floor plan. Because more often then not you don't have to get council approval. Council approvals and development approval, if your buying the property to resell takes extra time, extra money and if your spending 1200-1500 sqm building a new room at say (10 sqm-12 sqm) that's a cost of 12k to 18k (for building alone) plus xouncil fees, drawing fees, interest.
It just doesn't have that good a return as say If you giprock off a 2nd lounge area for 1500 dollars.
Thanks. Do you find the extra room value add mainly works well for cities, does it also give much of a kick to rental yields/price for regional or rural areas?
More so for cities then for Regional and rural areas. I have seen some 2 bed unit into 3 bed unit and they can add 50-100k in equity.
but you have to find a large 2 bed unit to start with to make that viable. But I have seen it a couple times and it does work
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