Who has done an interstate renovation? How did you do it? Any reflections to share?

Hi.

Im gearing up to purchase an investment property to renovate and lease out around the end of the year. My first property purchase was 2 hours from my work in Sydney. I decided to move in while I complete the renovations myself, travelling to work 2 hours each way. I figure its short-term, and I will save a lot of money during the project.

So I dont really know anyone who has invested in a property interstate that was in need of renovations. They all seemed to simply buy complete units that they leased out. Now I like the idea of buying something a bit rundown, fixing her up and then leasing her out to try and get a slightly better yield from the beginning.

Have people done this? How did you go about it?
How often did you find yourself flying over to examine/plan/supervise things?
How did you go about providing access for the various trades that would enter your property?
Did you make contact with an agent of some sort who helped out with access, photos etc?
Or did you turn away from managing the project, and hand it over to a builder to take control of?

Interested as im sure being comfortable with the idea of renovating a property interstate would open up purchasing opportunities substantially. Just not sure how it is best to approach it.

Thanks,
Attila.

 

I just wrote about this very topic

https://propertychat.com.au/communi...ter-pics-with-all-my-tradesmen-contacts.1480/

 

Unlike Jaybean our experience has not been as positive. Our property manager was great up to this point. They have been coordinating the basic renos.
Our trades were; handyman to install blinds, shower curtain and arm to hold it up in bathroom, new kitchen handles, few minor repairs - handyman great!
Carpet and vinyl plank flooring - delay after delay. Got the keys on 29/6, apparently it will finish the vinyl planks today - not happy Jan.
Aircon installer - great!
So, it will be at least 1 month to get a tenant in in an area with less than 1 week vacancy.
And we had early access to measure up. Disappointed

 

I used a handyman service recommended by my BA. They were fast, efficient and did a great job. They also co-ordinated some carpet install and window screens for me.

I flew up to Brisbane prior to settlement and met them onsite so I could arrange the quote. Had a list of things that they quoted on ( shortlisted from looking at photos and the B&P report). Then selected from that based on priority and budget.

 

Great thanks for the replies guys. Forgot to subscribe to the thread and was wondering why nobody had replied

Jaybean thanks for the link, I will have a read shortly.

Wombat thats something I didnt even think about, getting access before settlement to get everything organised and measured up.


So essentially if its a pretty basic renovation, the way to do it would be arrange access before settlement date to take measurements, take a whole heap of photos. Then go home and plan it all out from the photos. Then possibly organise the work, get a few quotes without them visiting the place, and pick your tradies. Then if required organise another visit with the tradies who need to measure/inspect anything attending as well.

So then when you get the keys, everything is ready to go.

Can I ask how the workers get access? Do you fly over and let them in/out, or do you post them the keys or something? That is assuming you dont have a property manager.

 

Hi Wombat, any chance you can PM me the company details handyman service you used? In the planning stage and wanting to build contacts in that area for quoting.

 

I just used my Property Manager. Keys were handed to them upon settlement, although they were the selling agent.

I had the quoting done before settlement.

 

Hi wombat

Can you PM me your handyman contacts?

Thanks

 

We've project managed a few renovations for interstaters. They've mostly been a combination of some or all of:

- Replacing kitchen and appliances (which in turn requires plumber / electrician / tiler to do their bits too)
- Painting some or all of the property
- Floor coverings, generally either carpet or laminate (depending on the room or property)
- Adding a wall somewhere to create an additional bedroom in the same footprint
- New bathroom vanity units or built in robes
- Any repairs that need addressing, varies per property obviously
- Garden tidyup / inside cleaning, to present the property best as possible ready for photography and showing people through

 

Thanks DT

However, my IP is not in Adelaide.

 

We did a big remote renovation in Brisbane a few years ago, had a Somersoft thread on it.

Brisbane North - Purchase and Renovation

We had great trades - but still needed to go on site every week - booked a heap of air tickets at sale time.

Could not imagine not having a successful project without regular inspections.

 

Thanks but i was actually replying to a different person

 

They closed.