reno options -> best bang for buck

Discussion in 'Renovation & Home Improvement' started by shezx, 8th Apr, 2020.

Join Australia's most dynamic and respected property investment community
  1. shezx

    shezx Member

    Joined:
    27th Nov, 2019
    Posts:
    6
    Location:
    2305
    hello good people
    Would love some advice - we've recently bought our PPOR, 80s Brick Veneer house with a log of potential for improvement. Here are my options, and my estimate of costs.

    ceiling lights $500
    vinyl flooring - living, dining, hall and kitchen $5,000
    upstairs bathroom renovation(Living area) $15,000
    downstairs bathroom renovation(Rumpus) $10,000
    landscaping/vegetable garden $1000
    adding a kitchenette ???
    put up a wall to add a bedroom ??? (2 dining areas in the house)

    we will eventually, if we can afford to, go ahead with most of these, but i would love to hear your thoughts on what would add most value to the property!
     
    shezx, 8th Apr, 2020
    #1
  2. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    14,015
    Location:
    Brisbane
    First thing I'd ask is what do you want? Because you will be living there.

    Are you wanting or needing an extra bedroom, or could the second dining area be better used as a second living area, TV area, etc.

    Why do you want a kitchenette? Is this a two level house?

    Mostly in my experience, kitchenette are either put in to cater for renting out a second level (which may not be legal) or for teenagers, or for granny on the lower level. Or to cater for a pool area?

    Perhaps you can give some more information, children or not, ages? How long do you plan on living here. How many bedrooms now?

    And most of all, assuming you will sell one day (or rent it out possibly), I'd be getting local agents to give you an idea of what the next purchaser, or the next renter would be looking for.

    Obviously if this is a long term place for you to live, you can make it suit your family, but always keep one eye on the fact that one day you will rent it or sell it.

    Adding a bedroom doesn't necessarily make a house more rentable. We've rearranged rooms to add a bedroom, and then had people looking for four bedrooms totally discount our place because it didn't have a second living area or a second bathroom. It isn't just about number of bedrooms.
     
    wylie, 9th Apr, 2020
    #2
  3. Jess Peletier

    Jess Peletier Mortgage Broker & Finance Strategy, Aus Wide! Business Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    6,685
    Location:
    Perth WA + Buderim Qld
    Best bang for buck comes from changing things that you can see. Painting over brown internal brick, for eg.

    How much value you can add is a research question - it's easy to spend a fortune with no return in one area, but get a great return in another suburb doing exactly the same thing.
     
    Jess Peletier, 9th Apr, 2020
    #3
    shezx likes this.
  4. shezx

    shezx Member

    Joined:
    27th Nov, 2019
    Posts:
    6
    Location:
    2305
    Thanks Wylie - we plan to live there for 2 - 4 years, and then rent it out.
    the area has steady CG, but not enough for us to be able to pull enough out to get an additional property - that's one of reasons.

    the ground floor isn't rent-able so it will be just for our own use.

    the place is quite livable as it is.The shower area has high moisture, that i will get megasealed until i can save enough for tearing it down and building a new one.

    attached a layout
     

    Attached Files:

    shezx, 9th Apr, 2020
    #4
  5. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    14,015
    Location:
    Brisbane
    I'd be tempted to turn the walk in linen cupboard into an ensuite to one of the bedrooms.

    It already has four bedrooms upstairs. I wouldn't be adding another one. That would give you five bedrooms, and one living area. I'd open up the walls (if any) between the kitchen and the living area one side and dining the other side.

    I also think that foyer is a waste of space and I'd be removing those walls between it and the living area.

    It depends on how much you want to spend. If you are living there a few years and then it becomes a rental, I'd be inclined to do as little as you need to. Make it sparkle within the limits of what is there.

    But I'd also ask a few local agents of their ideas of what renters in your area are looking for.
     
    wylie, 9th Apr, 2020
    #5
    Stoffo and shezx like this.
  6. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    23,536
    Location:
    Sydney
    Rooms are small. Consider adding space. Meals / kitchen isnt family sized for adults of teens. I would open the foyer, meals , kitchen and family areas given rumpus downstairs and just cosmetic reno all else. The wall between bath / meals is where pantry could be. That could free a open plan area with larger kitchen bench etc

    Your $$$ seem plucked. 1k on yard but no paint ? Veges are cheap at the shops. Dont turn the yard into a farm as a tenant wont care for it at all and it will be trash.

    Make a master bed using wir from bed 2 and close up wasted hallway which seems too much wasted space. People expect a bigger master bedroom. Confusing layout really
     
    Paul@PAS, 10th Apr, 2020
    #6
  7. vbplease

    vbplease Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    1,575
    Location:
    Brisbane
    if it’s going to be a rental in a couple of years I’d just fix the shower, give the internals a lick of paint, elbow grease around the yard and stop there..
    considering how much money you could sink into changing the floor plan, re-doing bathrooms and kitchen - the increase in rent is very unlikely to make the investment worthwhile
     
    vbplease, 10th Apr, 2020
    #7
    wylie, Kassy and Stoffo like this.
  8. Stoffo

    Stoffo Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    14th Jul, 2016
    Posts:
    5,331
    Location:
    In the Tweed
    I remember my mothers conversations about "over capitalizing" in situations like this :rolleyes:

    It is all about balance, putting in enough work/money to increase the value and rental potential without making it too much what you might want and end up spending too much :oops:

    Early on I "made do" with what I had, saved into the offset and only renovated just before selling, valuing or renting out ;)

    It'd be NICE to take out the walls at the entry to lounge, study(dining) and kitchen (though this will likely require structural work, extensive replastering, flooring and a new kitchen (and exceed your budget :confused: )
    Same as converting bed 2 into the main, convert the walk in Linen into a walk in robe and steal enough space from the main bathroom for a small ensuite :cool:

    The kitchenette downstairs could get you into trouble, but a "wet bar area" is about the only thing I would do other than painting/blinds (and possibly adding internal access to downstairs toilet) until I was ready to move out ;)
     
    Stoffo, 10th Apr, 2020
    #8
    vbplease likes this.
  9. Stoffo

    Stoffo Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    14th Jul, 2016
    Posts:
    5,331
    Location:
    In the Tweed
    Best "bang for buck", cut a hole in the bathroom floor and put in a chute to the laundry underneath :D
    Will also save the kids (or most likely YOU) from taking their dirty clothes downstairs each evening :p
    It will make for a novelty talking point as a min :)
     
    Stoffo, 10th Apr, 2020
    #9
    shezx likes this.
  10. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    14,015
    Location:
    Brisbane
    ^^^ This....

    Tidy it up, freshen up with paint. Rent it out when you move on.

    Something I've always struggled with is stopping myself from spending money on a rental house that "I" would like to live in. So we make them tidy, clean but basic.
     
    wylie, 10th Apr, 2020
    #10
    vbplease likes this.
  11. vbplease

    vbplease Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    1,575
    Location:
    Brisbane
    On the other hand it’s nice to daydream about doing an extensive reno for a flip - assuming their is a market for it (blue chip?)

    For modern living you’d need to put the kitchen downstairs, then you’d have loads of room upstairs for a new master suite with walk in robe and ensuite. All bedrooms together and room for a lounge upstairs too.

    I’d ditch the shower downstairs (you’ll have 2 x upstairs) then you have room for a kitchen, butlers, laundry and toilet.

    There wouldn’t be room for dining downstairs, but you could have a breakfast bar, and the back elevation really facilitates indoor/outdoor dining, or a small extension for a dining room.
    Bifolds to the backyard would be the showpiece :D
     
    vbplease, 10th Apr, 2020
    #11
From $20k to $25 Million: The Chris Gray Story