Adding Value with Original Fibro Home

[amativus]

G'day everyone,

I've recently purchased an investment property which is in its original state since it was first built, Fibro. I've been speaking to a few people; who admittedly have limited experience in respect to this, however, I wanted to add some appeal to it within a short time frame when it settles in about 2 weeks then take put it on the rental market promptly.

The house has wooden floors with carpet currently over these, so i was thinking to take the carpet out, sand the floors and add some appeal with a relatively low outlay.

I was then potentially thinking to remove the current walls, which is the same material they used during the time fibro homes were being built; not asbestos, but i'm told some type of horse hair material, and replace this with gyprock.

On the outside, I'm not sure what options would be availlble at a relatively low cost but would potentially bring the home closer to this era, a friend mentioned blue board?

Has anyone had any experience with this, or do you have any other suggestions that would add value in respect to the fascade of a home.


Thank you for any input provided in advance.


Regards

Amativus

 

[Peter Parker]

I've recently purchased an investment property which is in its original state since it was first built, Fibro. I've been speaking to a few people; who admittedly have limited experience in respect to this, however, I wanted to add some appeal to it within a short time frame when it settles in about 2 weeks then take put it on the rental market promptly.

My bias would be to do very little though it depends on the area.

Is it a cheap area with lots of fibro houses surrounding? If so you run the risk of over-capitalising.

Is it a dearer area where surrounding houses are brick or heritage timber? It may be worth spending slightly more.

If it's clean, everything works, it looks OK and it's liveable without too many little annoyances then money spent beyond achieving this might not get sufficient return to be worthwhile.

At least in cheaper areas rents are compressed - ie a really good place may only be $40-50pw more than a dive so rewards for spending a lot doing it up above and beyond aren't there.

 

[Jacque]

Spider is right- leave most fibro homes alone as long as they are intact (no cracked sheeting) maintain them (a good paint job is often all that's needed) and concentrate on the other items that will increase your rental yield eg: air conditioning, extra built-in-robes, decking/entertainment area, updated appliances etc.

However, fibro homes can be "redone" with several materials including weatherboards, vinyl cladding, weathertex sheeting, blueboard and cement render- you are only really limited by your imagination and budget

One of the houses our buyers agency purchased for The Renovators (Ch 10 show 2011) was an old fibro place at Blacktown, which was transformed with weathertex or similar product- you can see all the before and after pics on the website, which is still active
http://therenovatorstv.com.au/the-fibro-cottage.htm

It was a great job and made a difference externally, however with tenants you need to keep in mind that generally they're more concerned with what's inside the property, not how pretty it looks. I'd certainly consider sanding the floors in the living areas if the carpets are grotty, though do think about what area you're renting in first before leaving the bedrooms as polished timbers. I'm a bedroom carpet person myself

Happy renovating!

 

[Angel]

We used to live in a fibro house and we painted the outside in bright trendy colours and it made the world of difference to the look. We added a huge verandah, repainted the roof and gutters, new fences and it looked tons better. Inside we improved the kitchen, put in a shower (there wasn't one) and a skylight in the bathroom, new floorcoverings and painted it a neutral (grey) all through. For colour inside I used bedcovers and blinds/curtains, sofas.

It was in a low socio-economic area. Went from being way below the median price for the suburb to only just a smidgeon below it.

 

[amativus]

Thank you guys for your input, it has certainly given me food for thought and what a transformation Jacque, the result is fantastic.

Amativus

 

[pitstop]

Very inspiring pictures for my little fibro. I was going to go down the country cottage look but the modern look looks great too. Especially the front reno.

 

[DaveM]

One of the houses our buyers agency purchased for The Renovators (Ch 10 show 2011) was an old fibro place at Blacktown, which was transformed with weathertex or similar product- you can see all the before and after pics on the website, which is still active
http://therenovatorstv.com.au/the-fibro-cottage.htm

It was a great job and made a difference externally, however with tenants you need to keep in mind that generally they're more concerned with what's inside the property, not how pretty it looks. I'd certainly consider sanding the floors in the living areas if the carpets are grotty, though do think about what area you're renting in first before leaving the bedrooms as polished timbers. I'm a bedroom carpet person myself

Jacque isnt that the one where the guy didnt pay his concreter and other trades? I remember seeing something on it, the renovator claimed the work was free in return for advertising positioning, trades claim nothing of the sort was agreed as he just called them up out of the blue and said he needed work done asap.