Where should I spend the money?

i only have a few rental places but have found the easiest way to add value is to buy something that has had value taken away from it then remove it.  So of 3 renovations we have done 1 bathroom refurb + general freshen up in house, 1 bathroom/laundry/toilet full rebuild and are lining up a kitchen in the third.

I also like to knock out walls and open stuff up because my places tend to be small, but again this is more a case of the property had to many walls/doors/etc… rather than a formula.

The key to RENO is "Perceive" value hence give it the "Wow" factor because people buy with their emotion but don't over capitalise on it….stick to your budget.

Get some 3 quotes from three difference trade people (e.g., electrician or plumber etc) then use the cheapest quote. Also, purchase your own material so you can save money because often trade man will mark up the materials they will supply. ..very costly.

Note: If you over capitalised, you will drain your fund, and you could miss out if an attractive IP available that you've seen in the market.

I recommend get the experts to do the reno for you (e.g., trademen, electriCIan, plasters, etc) that will free up your time to hunt for more attractive IP.

Have fun a long the way.

Some excellent answers here. Kev T is right – every property is different and every area is different.

Are you renovating to hold or sell? This is certainly something to consider when deciding what to do to the property. Spend more on the interior if you're holding to rent out and spend a good deal of time and effort on the exterior if you're selling. This is key!

Another thing to do is to set your budget first. Then allocate your funds according to what is most important. Kitchens and bathrooms are important, yes, but depending on the property you might be better with a 'trick up' rather than gutting the house and starting from scratch.

Look at spending $1 to make $3 or $4 if you can (easier said than done huh!). To give you an example, I recommended to a client that they just trick up their kitchen rather than replace it entirely (which is what she was originally going to do). She spent $2,000 + appliances and flooring and made quite a significant change to the kitchen. It's not a million dollar property – it's a $400k property, so this sort of reno was perfectly suitable… http://www.hotspaceconsultants.com/_webapp_449809/53_Wildley_Road

It's really important to not take a 'blanket view' of your property by doing what everyone else is doing (or what the taxi driver tells you). Well done on doing some research before jumping in boots and all! Talk to some agents and take advice from people who know your area and your type of property. Eventually you will come up with some repeated advice. When you get told something 3 times by people who know your area and your property – I'd say you're on the right track.

Good luck!

We painted, carpeted put new curtains in, new kitchen in and created a new living space. When we asked the bank for a new value they simply drove past and said ours was worth the same as the house across the street that sold for $500K recently. That was a bit sad when we are about to go to the market with an asking price of $580K now.

So maybe you could let us know how you get your place valued after your completed your works.

Paul

In Qld it pays to spend some attention on the outdoor living areas also like decks and verandas,a bit of a prune and fresh mulch.
Resonably inexpensive but highly regarded.