Often you hear people(gurus) say they make huge money ($100K, $200K) by renovating, eg. buy $250K, sell $400K after reno.
These results are, I believe, for the average and even not-so average property investor, are very few and far between.
Why?
a. The so-called reno delights are almost in all cases, never bought (or even priced by the sellers) in a range that make a quick renovation and sell profitable. The phrase that comes to mind is over-exuberant bidding. The mindset is we will pick this up cheap because no-one would want this, spend some time, money and effort and make a killing.
b. There are never (well at least what I see), timelines associated with the purchase, reno and sell. Sure you can buy and update but do you need to keep for 1 year, 2 years for example before you can realise the gain?
c. Renovations Knowledge & Costs
The experts are probably tradespeople or have a background in that area, which makes them far more knowledgable about costs and the ability to reasonably challenge estimates or do things in an alternative way. For people doing this the first few times, they cannot hope to have the same level of knowledge and expertise.
d. Renovation project planning
More often than not, timing slips, delays with tradespeople, work/family pressures and priorities delays even the best laid plans. Not withstanding any requirement around plans, permits etc
e. Nothing is ever mentioned about CGT, holding & selling costs. The headline numbers sound impressive, but when you deduct all these other costs, is the net result worth it?