Hi everyone!
I am about to embark on the first stage of my husband and my 3 year plan. We live remotely and finding decent investments in our area is very difficult, simply due to the isolation. I am determined not to let this small issue put me off though, even though I fully understand doing renos from far away will pose its own set of challenges.
So, before I start, i would love to hear from others who routinely buy, reno and sell from afar. I know my area quite well, but I'd love to hear how others manage their tradies, the quality of work and deadlines from a distance.
Also, the best way to quickly get rid of the idea that a woman who is miles away is the easiest target ever to get taken for a ride – I know this happens from a previous development project. I ended up being very assertive but would prefer to shatter any illusions right from the start!
Thanks in advance!
Jess
Hi Jess,
we considered doing some renos from afar, but found that the main problem we had was being able to work out how much the renovation would cost before making an offer on a place. Normally, we take the reno cost into account before making an offer and this includes quite detailed pricing to try and avoid (or at least minimise) any cost blowouts. We didn't find anyone who could do this accurately (and to our standards) on our behalf in the areas we were interested in.
If you're comfortable with being able to do the costing sight unseen, this wouldn't be a problem but if you may need to find someone to trust who can do this on your behalf in the area you're looking at.
I may have also answered the second half of your question there too. Find someone you can trust to so the work, if it's someone unknown maybe give them a trial project and discuss your requirements with them beforehand. Also, set up a specific day and time every week (i.e. every Monday at 9am, a phone call for 15 minutes) for things like project updates etc. My wife has the same problems, and she lays down the law from day one to make people know who's in charge! A proficient person shouldn't have too much of a problem with this, if anyone does have a problem there may be a reason why….
PS good luck with the 3 year plan, we're into year 2 of our 5 year plan!
I have done small scale renovations from a distance. I found Grey Army before they were a franchise. I also have used Hire a Hubby and I also have used the Property Manager renting out my property to organise a home maintenance company on their books to organise and do all the required work like Painting, Tiling, repairs.
Thanks so much for your comments!
For my first one, I am planning on personally inspecting the property before buying, so the costing up hopefully won't be too much of an issue.
This will also have the advantage of personally meeting the tradies before they start, which I'm hoping will that take away a bit if the anonamousness (!) and make them realise I'm a real person.
Regular 'meetings' are a very good idea and I think that outstanding communication will be the key to a successful long-distance reno.
Duckster – Re – Hire a Hubby and the Grey Army, what exactly did you use them for? To manage the project / quaility control, or just odd jobs?
Property manager is a good idea, I know our current one will do that kind of thing for a fee, but we won't be tenanting the properties so they may not be quite so keen!
Thanks,
JessHi Jess,
I think the most critical thing to do when reno-ing from afar is to have your scope of renovation work set in stone BEFORE YOU START. Know exactly what you are planning to do (colours and specifications of everything all written down on one document) for your various tradies to price/work from. There are several benefits of doing this:
1) The contractors can go to the property without you and know clearly what you want to do right from the outset and so can quote accurately a fixed cost up front
2) You can truely compare apples with apples because you have given the same spec to each contractor
3) Because all the specs are written on the same document, each contractor knows what the other is doing (eg: painter can anticipate the work they'll have to do due to the work the builder is doing etc…)
4) All variations to your scope of work are recorded separately and if pricing comes in different to quoted amount you have a clear trail of what happened (and whether you actually approved the change!)I would definately recommend you get someone to project manage the job for you. No matter how experienced a renovator you are, you can never manage a project from afar the way someone there on the ground there will do it. I would suspect that the amount you pay the project manager/builder (margin on top of trades-peoples prices) will far outweigh the potential cost over-runs caused by a mis-managed job. You may even find a painter, electrician or plumber who is a bit light on work who will manage it for you.
I have loads of clients who live away from their properties and I help them with the specifications of their reno. In fact I had a client last year with a propery in NZ. She was based in Dubai and had never been to the property before starting the reno. Her property manager took photos of the property and sent them to me via email to specify the details of the reno!
Jane – Hotspace | Hotspace Consultants
http://hotspaceconsultants.com/home
Email Me | Phone MeRenovating for Profit specialist
I can provide comment from the other side. We have done renovation work for quite a few interstate and overseas clients. And we have put in place controls to help us manage this. So one of the things we do is have a spreadsheet which shows %complete on each of the renovation parts (eg. kitchen, bathroom, rendering, electrical, etc). We also show based on those % complete where the money from the progress payments has been spent and how much is still left in the kitty. And communication is the most important part. We personally do a weekly phone call which is more to do with status updates and a weekly phone call which we use for decision points such as talking about tiles or taps, etc. Your service provider needs to manage this for you in the same way that they would like it to be managed for them if it was their project.
Hope this helps, AnaThank you so much for your responses! You have raised some excellent points that I will definitely be taking on board.
I have 6 months to set up my 'system', and I will definitely be providing all my contracters with a comprehensive document outlining the whole project – thanks for that insight Jane!
Ana – I agree that communication is paramount! I will be having weekly 'meetings' with whoever I get to manage the project, and also regular communication with all the contracters – I think keeping myself in the picture will help make the process a smooth one.
Thanks again for your responses – I'll ask more questions as new ones arise!
Jess
I do interstate renovations and developments. Most of them in busy remote mining towns. I do not have any project managers – Their cost makes development unfeasible.
It’ really not as hard as it sounds! (and I’m just a normal girl with a common sence and can-do attitude) Don’t be scared off that easily. In fact treat all negative comments as a very good sign! There is a profit in other areas, because locals are too busy to bother with renos, and interstate people think it’ all too hard. You earn a profit by overcoming obstacles. In my experience an obvious obstacle is a god sign, as it scared most of people off!
))Distant and even interstate projects are very much do-able. A bit of common sense, good communications, scheduling, treating traders nice, and a winning attitude all you need.
Most of my projects I’m flying in. I schedule everything to the smallest details, try to arrange as much work as I can while I’m away, then pack my bag with hummers, screws, masking tape, etc. and go! (I always wanted to see the face of a person who scans my bags at the airport). When I’m working on the project I’m often fly-in for 2 weeks, then go home for 2 weeks. I stay at the hotel, or in the house, if it’s liveable.
Treat the good traders good, have reasonable demands, pay them quickly. They will help you and will recommend their mates in other trades who are as good as they are. They will often put you as a priority, because you are out of town and do not have much time. It takes some effort to keep things on schedule (or as close as you can), but call, remind, confirm with everyone, mention when the next trader booked in, and eventually you’ll get there!
Hi Lesia,
I think you will definately need a sense of humor and perspective, as things are bound to go wrong. Its human nature that some tradespeople will go off the rails when you are not around – they do that to you when you are right there in the same city. I think regular trips down, and possibly bonus payments for work completed to date could be very important!
G
Sense of humour helps.
Also try to look at a big picture and don’t loose hart over every problem.
I have a goal of doing 30 projects in the next 10 years.
So when you got problems with your project and things are going wrong, late, or not going at all. Just breath in and remind yourself that this is just 1 of 30 projects – you can’t allow yourself to have a hard attack on each of them.
It helps to see a real scope of a problem.Good luck!
))
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