Chippendale Terrace Renovation

Thought we’d create a separate thread for this to share the full story, this one is a work in progress.

We've had it for some time (since 2010) with the property and the area going through significant evolution during that time. Also, I know investing should be all about the numbers but we really love this one, rightly or wrongly

This was a strategic investment that we originally made knowing the future transformation due to occur around Central Park with the old Tooheys Brewery site. The intent was to have it as a long term hold and capitalize on the growth in value as the area changes, and maximize the yield throughout the period.

We have experienced some properties in our time that were in bad condition – but this was horrendous. The previous owner was a cat person – by that I mean they’d had dozens of them occupying the terrace and as a result it was not just in horrible condition but the smell was almost unbearable.

Here are the original photos (this does not cover the scope of the horrors, especially the smells...)










Step 1: Make liveable for humans & maximize the yield... at minimal cost

We had to completely gut the property - we needed to do floors, bathroom, bedrooms & kitchen. Unfortunately the condition was so bad that the floors had rotted and the piers were damaged so we needed to do these in the front, and up the back we needed to pour a slab for the kitchen which all added cost.

To maximize the yield we split off the front living room which allowed a small third bedroom and did not impede on the existing floorplan or functionality – still plenty of light and a functional living room in the rear downstairs.

The demographic of the area is very much university students given the proximity to UTS and USYD literally walking distance, which we promptly tenanted per room (this was before the days of airbnb). The basic renovation exercise was about $20k, and the gross yield on purchase price was about 6.5% which in our experience was good for a Sydney torrens title property.

Unfortunately not a heap of photos at this point... but you get a sense of what it was like with this one (very basic / low cost)



Step 2: Look to the future and HODL..

Second step was to look at the future potential noting that some of the adjacent / neighbouring terraces had an upstairs extension with dormer/balcony (which you can see in the initial front of house photo). Below is the floor plan evolution from the plans.

After the initial renovation we put plans into Council for this and these were promptly approved, so we then waited for things to move in the area as construction began on the Central Park project across the road.



Step 3: Evolve with the Extension

Third step a number of years later, the Central Park project is largely completed (I think they’re onto the last build/release). It is amazing to see the transformation of the area, which is why we bought this, to capitalize on the change. Feels like Chippendale has come along in leaps and bounds; it has gone from a feeling of being physically unsafe in the street to the suburb now being littered by hatted restaurants and trendy cafes. The amenities have improved with local shops in the development even including a Woolworths, and there are great parks and outdoor living available.

So with the expiration date of the DA looming @Meristone has taken the opportunity to complete the works, which is where we are up to today.

I’ll let her post some of these work in progress photos up as they’re largely sitting on her phone, below is a snapshot I've got on hand



Any questions, feel free to ask!

 

@alps asked me about the DA process - City of Sydney were generally supportive of the project, but initially we asked for another bedroom on the back of bedroom 2, which would increase bulk and scale beyond what they were willing to allow. They were ok with extending to the boundary however, but not past the existing building line.

Putting the original balcony back on the front was also challenging as it required a positive covenant placed on the property's title in relation to insurance cover which required specific permission from my insurance company, the bank (as they hold the title) and council's legal department.

I also made changes via a s96 and that process through Council was surprisingly efficient, I think because I had a great planner who was logical and practical.

More pics to come shortly..

 

They're one council which has got its act together on requirements for balconies & S96's as virtually every project has at least one submitted.

 

Thank you so much for sharing Morgs and Meristone.

I read your Redfern thread with great interest and look forward to hearing more about your Chippendale project.

From what I've seen from your posts, you guys deliver a consistent, high quality product every time. Well done

FYI, I can appreciate how getting the balcony approved would have been challenging with both council and neighbours.

Can I ask how long the DA process took and how much consultation was required with Council and neighbours? Besides the plans, Statement of Environmental Impact and I imagine Structural and Hydraulic reports, what other documentation was required for the approval process and do you recall a ballpark cost for these? And finally, what were the s96 amendments you requested?

We did a similar process to yours as an Owner Builder many years with City of Council and am about to embark on the whole process again. At the time the Owner Builder approach was appealing as we have access to some very good tradies and hubby enjoyed micro-managing the process. We intend to follow a similar path that you took of doing a basic reno and getting it rented whilst in the process of getting a DA lodged and approved.

Although the agent considers the place rentable, we see it in very bad condition and intend to do some work to it before renting it out. I can tell you that we both felt itchy/bitten when we left the place.

We look forward to sharing our experience with the project as they materialise.

Thanks again for sharing.

 

Pics are in order of progress - hopefully there's a bit of a logical progression there.

More pics of this one and my other development project are on my instagram - @mella.morgan

 

The balcony approval was actually not hard because it was originally there in the 1800s when they built the houses and removed somewhere along the way. It was the bureaucracy that was hard.

When I got the inital DA approved over 6 years ago, I wasn't very experienced and basically followed what my neighbour had approved, hence the s96 to change the floorplan and open up the rear (originally the bathroom and kitchen were still in the back) plus additional ensuite in the attic.

Because I followed the neighbour, the approval didn't cost much. She was an architect and did the plans for me (in turn I helped her with building a property portfolio ), there was a basic SEE and only a structrual letter, shadow diagram and no hydraulic report (which came back to bite me). I would estimate the cost to be around $10k if I did it today.

Let me know if you want to have a coffee sometime, happy to even come check out your place.

 

All great stuff.

 

Hi Meristone.

Will do as we would love to catch up for a coffee sometime.

 

Just wondering, with Redfern and Chippendale, did you go down the Owner Builder path or engage a builder to oversee the whole build?

 

At Redfern the structrual element was below the threshold so I could use individual licenced trades. We have already used our owner builder (once every 5 years) on other projects (Morgs will post them at some stage soon) so this time at Chippendale I just micro-manage my builder instead of everyone else

 

Here's the pics from the last 2 weeks on site - pushing through like the holidays never happened!

 

looking awesome meristone
how much more/longer to go?
is this going to be flip or IP for you guys?

 

Hopefully only a couple weeks left to go! I'll provide some info on the numbers once I know how much we end up spending
This will continue to be an IP, I designed it with the intentions of making it an airbnb IP, but at this stage I'm keeping my options open.

 

House is finished and tenanted! Will add some details around figures once I go through all the rest of the bills with my builder (I'm on a modified cost plus structure)

Here's pics (need to get some professional ones at some stage):

 

Hooray we can breathe again... for the weekend anyhow

 

Gorgeous home and I like your bathroom choice! Punchy, it's not big so I like your bold tiles, textured wall, black fittings

 

Always a fan of black and white contrasts with glass! Punched a lot of sexy in a small space.

 

looks awesome guys.

love the bathroom (black fittings and concealed cistern) and yellow front door

congrats!!

 

That bathroom goes really well in a property with a heritage link, but don't think I can put it into a modern house - what do you guys think? Trying to plan my next bathrooms.