first reno … everything went to plan :D

i am shocked … amazed … that i survived lastweek without a stomach ulcer, and that EVERYTHING went to plan!  I am still buzzing about it, so thought I would share

our house settled on Friday the 19th June, and due to hearing that a friend of a friend was looking for a house to rent we set ourselves a goal of having the renovations completed in exactly one week.  Thus allowing our tenant to move in on that weekend.  Wanted to lose as little rent as possible.

So for the seven renovation days I went into town to be kinda like a "project manager" as my husband couldnt get time off at Moranbah.  had the following renos done, all by tradespeople as I had to look after my two young kids at the same time (2 year old and 4 year old).  but im glad that our first reno was done by tradeys as I really wanted to support the local economy, and we just physically couldnt do it ourselves in that timeframe.  its our first reno.

heres what was done:

the house was covered in mould, so hired professional cleaners to bleach everything inside the house
the walls were aqua blue with royal blue trims (eew gross), so painted full interior of the house (ceilings/trims/walls) – house has 3 bedrooms, 2 sunrooms plus an office, so its a biggy.  its now a gorgeous light sand colour with white trims/ceiling.
new crisp white window coverings
new light fittings
new toilet and shower screen
new doorhandles
new entry door as the old one was like tissuepaper
and new carpet in the entry sunroom (the rest of house is floorboards recently polished)
yardsman to get rid of piles of garden mess, and tidy up the yard.  also replaced the clothes line.
installed new wardrobes and a new pantry
also had to get a plumber and electrician in for random jobs

so it was a pretty big week for me as im normally a stay at home mum in a country town.  so the pace of my life is normally 10 kms an hour – and suddenly i was cruising at 200kms an hour   i kept expecting something to go wrong.  a tradey to not turn up, a quote to get blown out of proportion, the tenant to not take the house.

but now i am back home and the house is AMAZING, and also tenanted.  its like a completely new house.  its gone from being unlivable, to being gorgeous and returning a rent of $340 a week.  the day after the tenants moved in I visited to drop off their new pantry and she actually cried.  I dont even know her and she cried "out of joy" she said.  cos she loves the house so much.  at least i know they will look after it LOL

Purchase price:  $250k
Legal fees/duty: $10k
Renovations: $11k
TOTAL: $271k
Estimated market value:  $340k  But Ive organised for a salesperson from the business that does my property management to go and give me an accurate market value.  So Im eagerly awaiting her reply

all of this is within a 3 block radias of the house:  two bus stops, mcdonalds, corner store, service station, TAFE, post office, private primary school, private high school.  and then just a few more blocks away is a public highschool.  plus there are a few other businesses around.  literally 6 blocks away is a big new shopping complex with heaps of shops, including a Coles.

Just thought Id share   This is my first property that I bought intending for it to be an IP.  It was my own little project that my husband hasnt had a say in.  So Im pretty excited   Ive been a stay at home mum for going on four years, and its nice to know that Im now contributing to having my husband retire early, instead of him doing all the work.

yay!   bring on the next house i say!