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I meant to say that if the condition is good, but the look is dated, you can always change and/or paint doors and door handles, and replace/respray benchtops. You can get lots of good bits of shelving etc to help with storage too, at much less cost than replacing everything there.
Weigh up whether the kitchen needs full removal (due to condition, really bad design etc…) or simply needs to be done up.
Check your measurements then explore the possibilities of finding a second hand kitchen to fit, or getting a cheap new one flat-packed from Bunnings or Ikea. You may find the cost is similar for all new if you use the cheaper components (such as plain melamine doors, but with nice handles).
If the space is difficult, then IKEA offers a fantastic free kitchen renovation program which you can use to pick out cabinets, doors, fittings etc, and then it spits out a list of components, the price, and a 3D model of the kitchen and full plans to work with. So far, my experience with apartments has seen me go this route due to confined spaces. You do get a better result, unless you simply install a galley, which might not use the space very well.
I was quoted $20K for a 20square, six bedroom house in Katoomba about three years ago, but that's the only time I've had to look at a re-roofing because we found the brand new panels that the owners had just had installed before going to market were cut too short and made the roof leak. We ended up not buying that one…
Basic gutters on a 10 square house (approximately 61 linear metres) should set you back about $2500-3000. If you're installing the same length in a bushy area and need to get the top-of-the-line double-layer-super-dooper-leaf-free gutters (can't remember their name at the moment, sorry), expect to pay about $10-12K.
Remember to check that your barge-boards don't need doing at the same time. The current ones we're dealing with are rotten through and need to be replaced with vinyl.
Asbestos fibro shouldn't really affect the price on guttering as they shouldn't have to distrurb the stuff. If they do, I'd be asking questions.
Yes, definitely avoid the blow-in stuff!
It's nasty. Not only does it pick up everything from dust to creepy-crawlies (mice and roaches love it!) and even asbestos in fibro houses, but it breaks down to useless faster as it settles, and has a horrid habit of falling through your man-hole and getting tramped into your carpet (and that you *don't* want in a fibro house, especially with kids around).
Jebro, it's what they call in the trade an "Eff-off figure" (had to censor that… you get my drift!). They throw a silly figure at you for a small job like that on the basis that they're only prepared to do it if you're silly enough to pay it.
Thankfully, you're not silly! Good on you for having a go at doing it yourself.
Here's a good tip from our builder: On walls, use the "ripple white" tiles instead of the really flat smooth ones, because the slightly uneven surface will hide any wonkiness in both the walls underneath, and in your work.
I'd suggest starting with a subscription or two to property investing and mortgage mags. They have a lot of really current information in them that is updated monthly, as well as solid articles to start from.
DWolfe is right: You've got a whole country to shop in. If there are empty rentals in your area, consider Sydney. Most of the market is ridiculously tight up here.
And my own two-cents: Student accommodation has its pros and cons. Some of this months mags talk about the potential legal issues around supplying internet to tenants. There still seems to be good money in students, even without the homestay factor (and we've had homestay students, when things got tough, all of my life!).
Keep researching. Never stop. Be careful, but understand that you will make mistakes, always learn from them, and keep moving forward.
Oh, and talk to a licensed professional who really knows property if you're not sure where to step next. I'm not one of those… I'm just full of ideas and facts and figures that I know worked for me, and for clients! You need info that relates to *your specific situation* before you pick which option to move forward with.
Good on you for getting into this at 21!
Hey! While I'm not the moderator of this forum, it seems to me that two people are attacking a person who was making an offer to swap info in an effort to broaden his horizons.
FWIW, I've met a few quiet investors who hold similar amounts of property at similar ages, so why is that so implausible if this person wants to share her experiences? That's just good business, not financial advice.
While I can't speak for Ms Crutchfield's credentials in property development, I saw Carly talking about personal presentation from a practical point of view (job interviews, business etc) at a free womens forum last year, and she was very good. She walks the walk, as well as talks the talk, and her tips have been a big help to me in achieving better business/negotiation/etc results since then.
Robbie: I don't have Carly's homestudy, but I am all for swapping information, including books to broaden my own horizons (that's how I got started – that and the library). I might have one of the others that you need. Contact me offlist where you're not going to get sniped.
I agree with Scott…
Even properties in Mt Druitt, which is a pretty rough part of Sydney, go fairly well with a good insurance policy behind them. Never underinsure!
Sometimes talking to the strata managers to see if they have any problems with tenants can be useful. We had an interesting case with one of our clients where we introduced ourselves to the strata managers while doing the renovations, and when they heard we’d removed the tenants from number 16, they were over the moon because these particular tenants were a nightmare.
Of course, it might be more difficult as a prospective buyer, rather than a project manger or owner of an actual apartment in the building…
But perhaps there’s a way you can call them to touch base as a prospective owner in the building, asking (maybe) some questions about rules for renovations or what you’re allowed to have on the property, what changes (like security) should be “in keeping” with the overall look, and then get them chatting about the type of people in there.
Often the strata mangers don’t have a vested interest in telling you the place is a good one to live in – they’re the ones who have to put up with all the problems, and can give you a few pointers as to problem neighbours! Telling an agent, who does have a vested interest, that you want to talk to strata personally so you can be clear about changes you’d like to make being okay in principle, is a good way to get around this!
I hope this helps!
Hi SOLD,
Personally I prefer to leave the majority of the painting and then the flooring until last (at least in the traffic areas where things will be dragged through while you're trying to rip out and install things like kitchen and bathroom. Best tip is to work your way towards the door so you leave minimal damage anywhere!
If you're in Sydney, have a look at my web site. I might be able to help further
It sounds to me as though you’re missing one vital thing here: You’re yet to take out a mortgage.
If you’re hell-bent on buying another property, you would do well to consider getting your own on the FHOG, and then transferring it into both of your names after the first 12 months are up. If you’re able to do that right now!
Hi Nit,
I’d say that in any market, as an investor you don’t want to be paying over the odds for a property that may deflate in value once the FHOG Boost has disappeared. Since you sound like you are going to rent the property out for a few years after you live in it to claim your FHOG, this may not be such a concern for you. Almost anything in this country will go up over a 5-10year span.
The thing you should worry about buying an overinflated property is that it might drop by the time you want to refinance yourself into your next property in 12 months’ (?) time. Picking something with a high risk of a drop in value if you wanted to do something like this could seriously hamper your equity available to buy something else, and even stop you in your investing tracks for a bit!
If you’re serious about buying a property within 10km of the Brisbane CBD, then you might be better off to buy a renovator and do it up. Especially if you are able to afford to put down your deposit and keep the FHOG to cover your renovation costs. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a good old Queenslander. They hold their value exceptionally well in spite of the higher maintenance involved (and there are things you can do to reduce this) because they are popular with people who appreciate a bit of history.
The value (I am finding) at the moment is in getting a bargain in a flat market, and value-adding to create equity for later. Once the FHOG Boost is out of the way and we can see where the market is going again after a couple of months, you might be able to consider buying something that will be low-maintenance and will take off in value by itself once the boom-times come around again.
We bought a renovator eighteen months ago, and recently had it revalued at $60K over what we paid for it before the start of the recession. The improvement was all in the affordable renovations we carried out. It is possible in this market to gain massive equity.
I probably don’t know the Brisbane market as well as my husband, who lived there for 15 years, but these ideas hold pretty much Australia-wide, I believe. When he gets home tonight, I will ask if he knows of any areas further out which are set to go off due to infrastructure development further afield. I don’t think there are many capitals in Australia which have only one “CBD”, so you might find more what you are looking for further out near another hub area.
I hope this helps!
I think you should take the plunge and grab the FHOG while you still can. It's an excellent step on the ladder, giving you plenty of time to live in it and decide what you want to do later.
Of course, after 6-12 months (once you got married) you could always decided to rent the place you buy out and move elsewhere with your wife. The Home & Land package idea also sounds like a good one, but if timing matters, go for one that doesn't involve your fiancee for safety.
If you have the means to put down a deposit, it's easy money!
Regards,
I don't know about actual software that you can buy, but RPData's web site can give you all of the information you're after, and more, all up-to-date, in its subscription.
The cost of the subscription is probably a bit prohibitive to keep up if you aren't buying many properties in each year, but I think you can get it for a month or so at a time, while you need to do your research.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Well, this thread was an interesting read.
I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for Jamie McIntyre’s course. The support and information provided taught me more in a single weekend (out of many available on the course) than I had learned in eight years of reading books. That support is ongoing for five years after you pay your fees.
Since I joined the Homestudy in January 2008, Jamie has always been careful to leave the advice to the experts he hires to give talks at his seminars. Yes, he talks about legitimate strategies, but ALWAYS advises that you seek advice from a professional before you go ahead with any of them. So, perhaps he learned from his experience with ASIC…
I will agree, there are some things at the seminars which are very much about selling a product, but the talks are backed up with so much useful information that I have taken that and run with it on my own, without having to pay any more to the people peddling their products. If you go along and jump into everything without doing further research or seeking advice, then (please forgive the expression) you may be the fool for expecting others to take care of everything for you.
It really *is* more about getting the exposure to a broad, quality financial education than blindly following the latest trend. Pick and choose what suits you and makes you comfortable. Walk in with your sceptics glasses on, but listen to the genuinely good and interesting information that backs up the sales pitch at the end of some of the talks.
I have more than made my money back from doing the course already, and I know that, going forward, I will make very much more in the years to come.
In eighteen months, I’ve gone from new mum on the dole, with a husband studying and with a bust business, to owning my own home and much, much more in equity, as well three businesses built on a solid grounding, instead of the rocky one I started on when I left university. The design skills from my degree which had lain dormant and unappreciated are now helping me to help others make more from their assets too.
I have more direction in my life than ever before. I have a two, a five and a ten year plan… and the ability to perform financial near-miracles on extremely low income (all this on less than $35K p/a until recently), while still paying everything off. Life skills I was never given by family or by school. THAT was worth every penny of the course fee to me. Heck, I have already made it back twenty times over.
What I am saying is not about rocking the boat: It’s just about what you choose to take away from the course.
I didn't mind the IKEA benchtops we used in a recent reno, but I wouldn't recommend their cheapest one (simluated granite in laminate). Can't remember what it is called, but it scratched too easily.
Have heard good things about the higher quality ones from Ikea (usually a solid colour laminate without the printing, which is what scratched), and if you're handy you can install it yourself.
If the smell is coming mostly from the kitchen and bathroom, it's possible that the water in the drains is stagnating. This happens even after a house has been vacant for two or three weeks (as it did with our place – 50 years old and original bathroom with dead seals didn't help!) and it's quite nasty.
Stick some Draino down all the drains (sinks, floor wastes, the lot) and flush with water for 5-10 minutes. You can look elsewhere if it doesn't go away after that
EBay has some great fencing buys as well. We got a full picket fence second hand for only $230 when the pickets alone would have cost over $500 in Bunnings, and the rest we just made up from treated pine. There are probably some sellers with your stuff on there as well.
In a rural area, wire fencing is probably not such a bad idea if you can make it look nice. There's nothing worse in a suburban street though!
If you Gyprock it yourself (not difficult to do with a good DIY manual), it shouldn't be too expensive. Gyprock is only about $14 for a huge sheet in Bunnings, and you can tape and plaster the joins yourself if you follow instructions carefully. PLus, it just screws in place. Remember that you will lose up to 50mm on each side of the room that you Gyp, though.
Ditto, skirtings are very cheap at around $3 per linear metre in Bunnings and easily installed with liquid nails and some No More Gaps. Cornice might be an issue as it's harder to install and you might prefer a plasterer, but the materials aren't expensive there, either. The finish overall, is much nicer.
Of course, I am assuming that you need such things as cornice and skirting. You might be in an apartment that doesn't need it, like the last one I did!
Yes, it's probably more expensive than free paint if you just use paint, but it does depend on your location and target market as to whether it's worth you doing it. I agree you should talk to real estate agents or even think back to nicely-decorated places you might have seen in the same suburb before you bought to see what people in the area like.
In this market, with rents going up, it's a great time to go the extra mile. An apartment I did recently (2BRM, $133K in Western Sydney) in a lower socio-economic area jumped from $150pw to $240pw with a complete, cheap, refit. Well worth it to see it go positive cashflow!
And it's not how much you spend… it's what you pick to put in that counts. That can mean shopping for very cheap items that look expensive.
Hi Clintone,
Terry is right.
To be a bit more specific, you must live in the property yourself for the six consecutive months out of the first 12 months that you own the property.
Also, you (and anyone buying the property with you) must never have owned a property as a PPOR before (that is, you cannot have lived in a property that you owned AT ALL, even for a short time).
This does mean that you are allowed to own property solely for investment purposes (ie you don't live in it) before you apply for the FHOG, but only if you bought those investment properties after the 1st July 2001.
So, if you're prepared to live in – and pay the mortgage on – an investment property for six months before you rent it out, this is a great way to get money to start investing!
Taking an even longer-term view of it, you can also apply this to the First Home Savers Account, as long as you're happy to wait for four years and save steadily until you can access it. Right now, it may be more practical and lucrative (in terms of capital gains and increases in rental returns as well) to take the boost in the FHOG while you can though!
