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I used to live on Sunshine Coast also worked in real estate agency there. Properties backing on to a golf course (with the exception of Horton Park Golf course in Maroochydore as the council is currently trying to buy it for CBD purposes) have always sold for more money than other houses in the same street.
Beware you do not overspend – the people with prime property who lost big money on the Sunshine Coast in the 80's property bust were the ones who had paid far too much for their houses to start with (mainly waterfront properties) – just for the exclusivity factor such properties offer.
Also check where the new transport link between Landsborough and Maroochydore is proposed to go – has been talked about for years and continually changes but check if it will affect any property you are looking at.
I no longer live on the Sunshine Coast and I admit I am no expert! Just be cautious – I am absolutely certain you should be able to find an excellent property with the amount of money you have to spend – especially as my friends tell me that at the moment mortgage stress is forcing a lot of real estate sales on the Sunshine Coast.
Happy house hunting!
Lorraine
I always paint first and do floors last – reason being that any paint spills down… and on to your beautiful new floor
Leaving the old floor covering there while painting (especially ceilings) makes an excellent drop sheet – you will have to lift up floor coverings around the edges of your skirting boards though before painting them, as your new floor covering will often be a different height/depth to the existing one, and there is often a paint line or ridge on the boards from the previous carpet/vinyl/tiles that you will want to sand off prior to painting.All the best – it's a lot of hard work but the rewards are worth it!
"I would rather avoid it to be with my boys as they are at an age where I think it would make them pretty upset, but I guess kids can be pretty strong and understanding as well."
Yes, they can be but PLEASE do not underestimate the trauma to children of having their mum and dad split up. You can pretty it up any way you like, but in the end if mum and dad are calling each other names etc (which usually happens as soon as divorce+money is involved) this can't help but affect the kids no matter what their age and stage is.
As Terryw so wisely said, you need to weigh up all the costs including stress, and solicitors when looking at property settlement – if you can remain a little flexible the negotiated settlement will always have the best outcome for all concerned.
Hi Jacqui,
I agree with Frankey's comments – I have rented a property with polished floors and had to put carpet or felt under my dining table and chairs as they were scratching the varnish. On the other hand, the floor had not recently been varnished and I believe this was redone after we left.
One of my sons is a floor coverer who lays a lot of vinyl and clip-in wood flooring. He has advised me to avoid the cheaper wood flooring as it chips too easily. Apparently the thicker the boards, the better. However nothing really beats actual wood floorboards for durability.
My son has vinyl flooring in the bathroom (looks like wood) and paid for a floor sander to some in and do his hallway & kitchen. It looks great – older houses in Tassie tend to have oak floorboards which are beautiful sanded and very hard wearing. The trick is, as others have said, to put enough varnish on the top. It can be a pain to do extra coats of varnish as you have to coat the floor, usuaslly leave it for at least 24 hours and resand between coats, but it is well worth the wait if you look at durability.
I have often had to remove glue from floorboards – it is a terrible job and we usually use the sharp end of a spade to scrape the glue off. Not sure I would use kero due to the flamability factor. My daughter has someone who sands the floors of her rental properties and he just sands over the glue. Having said that, there was so much glue on the kitchen floor in the second last house that I renovated that we ended up covering the whole floor up with vinyl tiles – it looked great.
There are always options – and you can get a lot of alternate looks from silimar priced yet different products.
Have fun – sounds like you have bought a bargain!
Lorraine
Someone told me many years ago never to paint in pure white as it attracts insects – tint instead to an offwhite
I have renovated many houses since and always tint my whites now – it seems to work for me and it's amazing how many offwhites can look like white and still have that lovely fresh lookAnother tip from a painter when I was trying to paint over a wall painted in a strong colour (sometimes these walls will take over 4 coats of paint to cover properly if using an offwhite), paint the whole wall first in grey. This creates an overall neautral base which then only needs your normal 2 coats to cover again.
Hope this helps someone! I have a bit of experience in renovating – always our own homes – so zilch experience in seeking finance for IP so that will be a learning curve for me.
PS I'm still renovating, and getting a bit sick of it – going to work in the morning and coming back every day to an unfinished house… have to remind myself of our long term goals!
Cheers,
LorraineHi Tiffany
Are you talking about Pelican Waters Sunshine Coast Qld?
Lorraine
