I am curious to know….if you ask for early access during the settlement period, to what extent can you do renovations? Are you only allowed to do a general tidy up (ie – painting, maybe new carpet) or are you able to do more significant work (put in a new kitchen or bathroom, or even structural work like divide a house into 2 separate flats??)
I’d really appreciate anyone’s feedback on this, as I have a property that could be great to turn into 2 flats, but don’t want to be paying interest payments while the work goes on. Can I do this or am I totally pushing my luck??
I dont think there’s any reason you cant do major work through the settlement. It’s just a matter of agreeing and using the correct clauses in your contract with the vendor. If they allow access, go ahead, but if they’re still going to be there during settlement it may be hard.
People have made a lot of money using this technique, so you’ve got nothing to lose and a lot to gain, so you might as well ask!I heard this guy did this, he pulled down 2 internal walls and ripped all the wall paper off, but the thing was the bank hadn’t valued it yet for lending purposes. Because it was a construction zone when they did, it came in at under $30k less and he was left hanging…
Hope this helps…G7
Yes, i think you could negotiate anything. But, if for whatever reason you can’t or don’t settle, then the renovations belong to the owner.
Terryw
Discover Home Loans
North Sydney
[email protected]Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
It’s just a case of coming to an agreement with the owner. We have done this with a couple of properties. We’ve put new kitchens, floorboards etc. in them before settlement with the agreeance of the current owner, and had them rented out by the settlement date.
It’s definately worthwhile if you can negotiate it.
Cheers,
Karen[biggrin]Thanks for your help guys, it really helps.
The vendor has already bought elsewhere, but is not in a hurry to sell – she just comes back to the property on weekends to clean up and collect mail. So I’m sure if I can get her to agree on allowing me to have access, and negotiate a long settlement, and offer her what she wants for the property (Steve’s tip: “their price, but your terms”) I think I could be on to a winner.
Cheers!HI,
I bought a investment property and as the property was not occupied I asked for early access. The Vendor Solicitor said no probs if I took a Insurance and few conditions like no structural work, etc…. As I was only going to change some light fittling’s, paint, remove wall peper and other bits and pieces worked out well. Finished the work and 10 days later found a tenent.[cap]Recently we bought our first investment property fromelderly vendors moving to a residential. I requested permission from their solicitors but was not allowed. We had hoped to start cleaning up the garden which is neglected. N[baaa][baaa][baaa]ext time we purchase we will make this a point in the negotiations. We look like loosing 2 weeks rent at least. John
John Groeneveld
Steve does talk a bit regarding this topic in his latest book. Suffice to say I think it’ll help you along, jarmbie.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
