How to make easy money from property...

C-mac,

What's a Guerilla light reno between tenants typically entail? Is that just a quick hit of paint and maybe the odd new carpet if required? i.e. a bit of polish and refresh before you re-tenant? Or something a bit more significant...

On that front, I've committed to actually spending capital improving my top end units in Mona Vale annually. It really helps keep the tenants happy as well as maintains the high end valuations on my units. For example, I added a hardwood privacy screen around Unit 2's bedroom courtyard that faces the common area pathway. They have a young girl that sleeps in that room and the tenants have said how much better it is now. I've also added Foxtel and recently offered to put roofed Vergola's out the back to the two ground floor units. This ensures I attract and retain really good tenants that pay top dollar. I also pay for a regular weekly gardening service to keep all the gardens in tip top shape and mow all the lawns. When I went down there recently, the gardens looked spectacular!

Depending on your price point, I'd suspect this sort of ongoing value add / maintenance is a common occurrence for us property moguls and well worth the deductible expenditure...

Cheers,
Michael

 

I was looking around Frenchs Forest and Forestville but everything around there went crazy in prices! I will never forget agent was telling us 1.1m on one property it ended up selling for 1.495m. What surprised me even more is when buyers agent said to the client we still have room to go 100k. I was behind him when he was talking to the client on the phone.

So we found large block (780sqm) in Seaforth (poor part of Seaforth). We are settling on 23 July. This will very likely be our PPOR. We are thinking of a house and granny flat. Where granny flat will have its own separate driveway. So it will look like battle axe block.

I was looking to do similar thing you did buy building 3 villas or townhouses. But all of it was out of our price range at this time. For the next project I will be looking to do that. Baby steps first...before running...

 

Sounds excellent, thanks for sharing! Please make sure you start a thread and blog the development. I'd love to watch it come together.

Cheers,
Michael

 

@Michael, yes this is the kind of approach I'm talking about. Adding value/capital-improving elements in where possible, to ramp up the equity gains for further draw-down later on.

Only difference for me is; so far Ivr just kept it to lights/paint/carpets/new appliances etc., as I don't own any premium or higher eND properties unfortunately. But if I start acquiring this kind of stock, I'd look to your strategies to manufacture that maximum equity/valuations for sure

 

You'd be surprised how much of a difference some lick of paints and a new flooring can make to an old or tired-looking house. We recently did a reno in Holsworthy. A 3 br duplex in a Mirvac development:



New paint on ceiling and walls in the ground floor. Timber floorboard. Hired professional stylist & furniture for the sale.



Also did some landscaping for the back yard and side of the house.

The whole reno costs around $11K. Median house price for a 3 bedder in Holsworthy is $597K.
The house was bought for $370K in 2008. Sold price:
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-holsworthy-119913593

Easy money? Depends on what you call 'easy'. There is no such a thing as 'easy' money in property. You do need a bit of luck in property, but for a lot of people it's been good old hard work.