Help! What would you do?

Discussion in 'Renovation & Home Improvement' started by Kip, 7th Apr, 2019.

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  1. Kip

    Kip Active Member

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    Okay so we have a small townhouse which was rented out in Mt Waverly. The tennantTennant decided not to renew their lease as the upstairs bathroom shower tiles are falling apart as the water proofing has cause damage to tiles.

    My options are to have quick fix (agent quoting $6800k) and get tenants in quickly

    Spend time getting few quotes and then going for a cheaper option (could take few weeks as I'm heavily pregnant) but I'll miss out on rent?

    Or to completely renovate the whole bathroom with a view of renting it out. My concern here is renters will just ruin the place again and I'll need to re-renovate when i sell?

    Any advice would be so appreciated. First time on this forum!!
     
  2. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

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    Failed waterproofing is usually not the fault of tenants.
     
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  3. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    Quick fix at $6800 sounds like daylight robbery and how can failed waterproofing be worked around?

    I would spend a bit more and start again.
     
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  4. Kip

    Kip Active Member

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    Sorry what do you mean by start again?
     
  5. Kip

    Kip Active Member

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    Yeh i know...the question is which option would you do...I feel like $6,800 to fix water proofing around shower and replace tiles is expy. Should I just do the whole bathroom?
     
  6. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

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    How much would it be to redo the whole bathroom?
     
  7. Westminster

    Westminster Tigress at Tiger Developments Business Member

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    I feel it's expensive too and for that price you could do a renovation but it would take longer.

    If it's just the shower floor and not the walls could it be an option to get an acrylic shower base installed?
     
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  8. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    If redoing the bathroom will cost less than the loss of rent and high temporary repair, a proper job wins hands down.
     
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  9. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    I mean if you will be paying $6,800 to fix water proofing around shower and replace tiles you might as well gut the bathroom and put in a brand new one.
     
  10. Kip

    Kip Active Member

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    Hi but what about the loss of rent??? Also won't tenants just ruin the property if I renovate it...it's better to wait until I want to sell the property??
     
  11. Kip

    Kip Active Member

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    Cost of rennovating full bathroom I've gotten quotes for $12-$15k. Which seems really high and if I want to keep searching for quotes it may take more time.
     
  12. Propertunity

    Propertunity Well-Known Member

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    This money sounds about right. If the reno is well planned then it should not take longer than 2 weeks max. Or you can spend 1/2 that amount and do a half-assed job and do it all again sometime down the track.
    Why would tenants ruin the property?? ....and if they do, isn't that why you take a bond and pay LL insurance?
    If you cannot afford 2-4 weeks vacancy and a little over $10K in repairs ie gutting the bathroom and starting afresh, then maybe you should not be investing in RE or at least increase your cash buffer for times like this.
     
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  13. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    You say "upstairs bathroom" which sounds like there is a downstairs bathroom as well?
     
  14. Westminster

    Westminster Tigress at Tiger Developments Business Member

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    It's a catch 22 situation.
    $7k on a fix it job which leaves the bathroom in a tenantable state but no real improvement is a lot of money to spend when you'd still then need to spend $12k in the future
    $12k is only $5k more but you'd get a new bathroom which will last another 10-20 years but take time and loss of rent so probably all up $15k
    If you don't want to do a full fix or reno now then a prefab shower cubicle might solve the problem
    $1000 plus installation - there are various sizes and shapes and there should be one to fit your situation I would imagine
    Base MKII Shower System with Rear Outlet 900mm x 900mm White & Chrome from Reece
     
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  15. Kip

    Kip Active Member

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    Yes
     
  16. Kip

    Kip Active Member

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    Yeh exactly thanks so much for this...I will have a look now
     
  17. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    So if you have two bathrooms, and you don't have the funds to keep the place empty whilst a new bathroom goes in, you can offer reduced rental until the second bathroom is up and running.

    In our early investing days we certainly couldn't leave a house empty for two weeks longer than necessary as we relied on the rent paying the mortgage. So I get that.

    But right now we are doing work that is stopping our tenants from using the driveway and we've offered $200 off their rent (it ran into two weeks) to keep them onside. You could offer a discount while the work is being done.
     
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  18. Marg4000

    Marg4000 Well-Known Member

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    Who says the waterproofing is damaging the tiles? I can’t see how this can happen.

    I suggest you get another opinion.

    From a qualified person.

    Years ago we were told by our PM that tiles were coming off the shower in an IP. Sent us a quote for $4800 to completely retile the shower. When challenged, PM said some tiles were falling off. We asked her to get a quote to stick back the tiles. $125. No more problems and we sold around 5 years later.
    Marg
     
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  19. Kip

    Kip Active Member

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    Oh that's really smart!!! Thanks so much for all the advice srsly everyone has been so much help!
     
  20. Kip

    Kip Active Member

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    We got three quotes and all have said similar things.