Beginner IP renovation question

[monty]

Hi,

I am looking to buy an investment property to renovate but not in my home town. It will be a few hours drive from where I live. I do not have much experience with renovations and the scope of renovations will be $30K - $50K: kitchen, bathroom, floors, etc.

Should I be looking to deal with one tradie (a builder I assume) and let them organise all the other tradies or would it still be advisable to organise all the tradies myself?

Thanks

 

[mins]

I found diifferent tradies better for us. The logistics of it being a few hours away would be a nightmare though...

 

[mikezen]

...........

 

[mikezen]

If u have a decent pm manager then they will prob do it, but for a fee,

 

[Jane - Hotspace]

Hi Monty,

I'd say you definitely will need someone on the ground to manage your renovation for you if you won't be there yourself. There are a couple of options;
1) Property manager (if they are willing to do it - some often won't) for a fee as Mike mentioned.
2) Project manager - you may find a project manager who will co-ordinate all the trades on your behalf. A project manager typically doesn't do any of the physical work themselves.
3) Builder - similar to a project manager in that they have a team of trades around them except that they will do some of the work themselves.

Keep in mind that if your reno budget is $50,000, you will probably only get $40,000 worth of work done to the house as the rest will go on project co-ordination/management fees (it's a myth that project management fees are only 10% unless the project is in the hundreds of thousands!).

One big tip I can give you is to articulate very clearly what you want your tradies/PM to do. If you can identify all the details up front (allowing for unexpected and 'periphery' items) then firstly you'll get accurate quotes up front (and no surprises in the end!). Secondly, you'll get what you want. You'll be surprised at what can go wrong when you assume things on a renovation.

At design school (20 years ago!) we learned to be accurate and articulate but not to tell tradies how to suck eggs. It's a fine line!!

Good luck with everything!

 

[Moon91]

Keep in mind that if your reno budget is $50,000, you will probably only get $40,000 worth of work done to the house as the rest will go on project co-ordination/management fees (it's a myth that project management fees are only 10% unless the project is in the hundreds !

Hi Jane

So, what is a typical fee to PM a renovation in the 30k/50k bracket? 20%?

Thank you

 

[Jane - Hotspace]

Yes about that. To give you an idea of fee's I've charged on a couple of jobs in the past (not that I manage clients reno projects anymore as a rule!); $18k on a $50k reno, $6k on a $20k reno.
And I earned every dollar!!
However, on 90% of projects I've come in under budget - so that is definitely a bonus when working with a project manager. You might spend some $ on their services, but the job will (should!) get done quickly, within budget and at top quality.
Savings can also be made on holding costs (because property is idle for shorter period).

 

[coastal]

How much us the property worth ...depending on what you want ...50 k seems like overcapitalising..