Hi Fredo,

It depends on the information  that you want updated.

Ownership Details and Address Details:  I have had this happen and contacted the local council or lands title office to find out the status of the information and then they guided me through the process of getting it changed.

Property photos:  RP Data like keeping their property database current so I would assume that if you called them they would be more than happy to update your property photos.  Give it a go they can only say no to your request.

I hope this helps you.

MrsC,

From our personally experience we thought that a Bunnings & IKEA kitchens would be the way to go.  I do not know whether it was our inexperience at the time but it took twice as much effort getting the kitchen installed (being a handyman and having patience might help allot).  We tried ours, then a handyman and then finally a tradesmen (too much time wasted).  We then networked to find a cost effective cabinet maker to do all the work for us … It took a bit of time and 2 renovations later we had one and still use him today … He is a great guy.  The thing I love is the customised aspect of it as not all kitchen layouts are alike. 

I hope that helps. 

Hi there …

Other than focusing on doing cosmetic renos the other important factors are …

1.  You make your money when you buy … so buy extremely well … many people do not buy well and suffer the pain once they have finished and can not recoupe their money when the try to resell it … commonly known as over capitalisation.

2.  Remember the discount you get the house for must cover the following costs … [1] purchase costs [2] holding costs (4-6 months) [3] resaling costs [4] renovating costs … do not under estimate this as it has a habit of eroding your profits [5] your safety margin … market corrections etc [6] last of all your profit margin.

3.  Therefore spend most of your time buying well … putting in heaps of offers … for example I looked at about 170 houses today and shortlisted it to 21 houses that i would be interested in pursuing.

If you want any more tips just follow us on our website.

All the best.

Hi Matt & Jess,

Thanks for the compliments on the Nerang house.

If I remember I will post the figures of the property once the house has sold so that you have an accurate account of the renovation project.

However, in the meantime the custom built kitchen installed with the appliances (not including the tiling) cost us $4,757.90 includes GST.

Hi Joe,

We have come across a few properties that have had extensions done to them with different types of bricks in them.  Our quick solution to this situation is just to render them, the transformation is amazing.

Our most recent project (Renovation – Nerang House Project) illustrates this …  It had a mixture of old dated bricks and timber (covered the timber with blue board and then rendered the blue board).  Now it looks uniformed and modernized  …

Check it out … http://bit.ly/aF5Vu7

I hope this helped!

Hi Mav86,

The quickest and most accurate way you are going to know the style of the property is to ask a local real estate agent who would know alot about the area and the style of homes that exist there and the ones that most appeal to people buying in the area.

Hi Romeop,

In my experience this would seem to be a small issue and I have installed a bathroom exhaust fan to solve this issue.  I am assuming that most people do not want a window open when they are taking a shower.  Try for a discount off the purchase price but be realistic … say $500 and expect the vendor to reject it, however you do not know until you give it a go.

Hi Mav,

We have 4 renovation projects on the go at the moment in Brisbane and the Gold Coast at the moment.  We will be onselling them for $270,000 (Gailes House), $370,000 (Nerang House), $290,000 (Logan Central House) and $275,000 (Rochedale South Unit).  All at the affordable end of the housing market.

In my personal opinion only and I have been doing it for 10 years and done will over 100 properties is that …  "You make your money when you BUY!!!  This was drummed into me early in my property venture by John Burley (USA property educator … if you did not know him).

Renovating the property and possibly selling it for a premium is for us simply icing on the cake and makes it sell faster. 

I believe the main reason why people do not make money out of renovating is that they do not buy well in the first place.

Therefore you can make only in the sub $430,000 market … you might make a bit more in the $650,000+ market.  Just be careful you do not over extend yourself if you are new to the game in the higher price property.

All the best …

Hi there,

From my experience when I have property specification questions I do the following …

1.  I ask a number of local real estate sales agents what potential buyers are looking for as a bare essentials and what would be the nice to haves.  A part of our business is that we renovate houses, so I get an agent to come out to inspect the property and get their opinions what what we need to remove, add or change to appeal to people in the area.

2.  I then ask a number of local property managers what are the bare essential for renters and what are the nice to haves that will get me additional rent.

3.  I then go to a number of similar stlye open homes in the area to gauge what the competition is providing the buying and renting public.

I saw a house a couple of years ago where the renovator had installed a large water tank, if she had done her local research she would have found that no one in the area has water tanks or would buy one.  Therefore it was a waste of money. 

She had also done a number of other things that were not in alignment with what is deemed normal in the area.  What made it worse was she had paid too much for the property and was trying to sell it at close to 17% above the market and was wondering why it was still sitting on the market 9 months later.

Hi Daniel,

According to an article last year, depending on where you are doing the property transaction, a vendor who becomes a tenant will fall outside the residentual tenancy authority (RTA) and if a dispute arises it will be a meesy one. 

It really seemed odd to me. 

While I am looking for the article … ask the RTA in the respective State if there are any future complications with a previous seller becoming the new tenant.

Queensland …

"The original intention to exempt tenancies arising out of contracts of sale (section 20A) was directed at situations where property settlements may be delayed and the seller remained in the property for a short time and may be paying rent. The RTA has noted that different arrangements are now emerging, where the seller may agree to rent back their house from the purchaser for a longer period, such as six months, and is clearly a residential tenancy but is exempt because of this section. All sector groups agreed that these tenancies should be covered, which would provide clearer tenancy rights and obligations and easier dispute resolution processes. However, the sector agreed that short-term arrangements resulting from a sale, suggested to be limited to 28 days, should continue to be exempt for ease of administration for the parties."

Sources:  http://www.rta.qld.gov.au/zone_files/Docs/policy_review_paper-tenancies_act_review.pdf

Daniel just ring the authority and check it out … I might be wrong.