Get a look at this hideous house .. needing extreme makeover advice

With our houses (timber Queenslanders), we had to renovate every one we've ever bought to get them to a rentable stage. They had been rented, but were pretty awful and not something we would have advertised for rent unless we wanted dodgy tenants.

So we did what we had to, new kitchens and bathrooms, ripping up flooring, upgrading electrics. We did this because they were in good areas and "worst house on a reasonably good street" houses.

Then we simply keep them maintained. I could live in any of our houses but they are not grand by any stretch of the imagination.

The question of when we will do a renovation is easy for us because we have to lift and move them to allow reconfiguring of our block. At that stage, we will install new kitchens to replace the ones we installed 20 years ago and that really are dated. They are "colonial" style, so were never cutting edge designs, but sturdy and suit the era of the house.

When we do them again in a year or two, we will modernise the houses completely, keep the Queenslander features, but install modern kitchens and bathrooms (style yet to be decided, maybe a nod to the era, maybe not).

To do this now would not give us enough rental return to warrant the money needed to do the work. So we continue to maintain. I guess the difference with a Queenslander and a brick and tile house is that people looking to live in a Queenslander don't mind a bit of "old" if it is clean and not "grotty and old".

If I owned the house you've put up, I'd clean up what needs doing, remove the bar (but not if I had to retile where it is sitting), paint out the dark beams, lighten it up and make it as fresh as I could. Pressure wash the driveway and back concrete area. I'd even price up swapping that wire front fence to timber because that is the first thing you see and it isn't pretty. The bushes behind that fence must be making that room very dark, so I'd keep the ones on the fencelinev and trim the ones near the window to allow some light in.

I'd swap the window treatments to something like simple roller blinds, or eyelet curtains in a light colour. And I'd also swap out the wall sconces and other lighting for modern ones.

I'd clean or replace that inset carpet square with a darker colour that goes with the tiles. Spend as little as you can to make it more attractive to renters. I know photos always make a place look better than "in the flesh" so your new photos should look much better for those comparing other houses nearby.

If you are really comparing other houses, much better, and they are only getting $20 per week more I'd actually do nothing.

 

Painting depends on if you DIY or get someone in. If you allow $600 per room (very ballpark) that gives you an idea. I recall a painter telling me that is ballpark figure we could work with.

New eyelet curtains from The Reject Shop (last time I bought eyelets) were about $20 a pair, and last house we dressed for sale I bought these in white from Ikea (in white). They looked way more expensive than $14 a pair. They looked quite "dreamy" and for sale, were fantastic value.

VIVAN Curtains, 1 pair - IKEA

For rental, they'll get dirty as they are harder to open than eyelets. But at $14 a pair, you could replace them each tenancy for about $100, depending on number of windows needing replacement. I think they are great value, but are 250cm long, and I had to hem them.

The bushes that need to be cut, will also be next to nothing. Fence would be probably $1k (going from our last small fence job price).

Swapping out lights will depending on how many and what you buy. But changing "old lady" lights to modern wall lights will change the feel completely, so probably worth doing.

Replacement of that small square of carpet should be very reasonable. Is that the only carpet?

I guess the biggest issue is you seem to be in Sydney. I am happy to ask our painter if he would be interested in quoting, and you'd need a handyman for the other things, and a sparkie for the electrics.

We have a sparkie who won't charge an arm and a leg if you want his details.

 

Forgot the bar...

Looks like the tiles might run up to the bricks, so ripping it out will leave you with flooring problems. If not, I'd remove it, but if there will be a gap in the tiles, perhaps knock the brickwork down to desk height, and have someone (handyman?) make it into a desk? And get rid of the mirrors when you paint.

 

Just looked at some wall sconces, and if you do go down this path, you could get a few of these (how many wall sconces would you need to swap - just living rooms), delivered for free.

SAL S9320 Cube LED Wall Light Adjustable Beam

 

This is good advice. If you don't need a sparkie for any electrical issues, then you are replacing lights just to make them look updated.

That is a good thing, but likely you'll not get more rent for that. However, the light linked above would change the look of the room. Those lights are very 80s.

It comes down to best spending, without overspending, to get best rental increase.