Best area for reno

Best Sydney area for reno

Hi all

Having recently done a renovation course, im ready to cut my teeth by starting with a cosmetic reno. The hard part is working out where to buy a place. The aim is to buy an older free standing home, do a cosmetic reno only and sell it soon after. Areas I have considered include:
- North Ryde/Marsfield
-Epping/Carlingford
-Thornleigh/Normanhurst
-Hills area

Entry prices for some of these areas are quite high and not sure if there is a demand for renovated properties as opposed to brand new places.
I dont want to look down south as im not familiar with that part of Sydney at all.
Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions re suburbs to target and types of homes for my objectives?.
Thanks in advance

JJ
 
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Residex has a renovators report you can order showing which streets have the highest disparity in medians so you know where to capitalize.
 
Hills District... I'd avoid near Beaumont Hills/Rouse Hill as a lot of new stock has come on-line (Beaumont Rise at the top of Brampton Drive is going up crazily) and the demand isn't really there for the larger houses at the moment (my parents are sitting on one of the larger houses in Beaumont Hills and the buyer interest is yet to come around. But there is potential for future.) Most tenants are heading to the units now anyway.

Castle Hill is quite expensive and so congested, so maybe something on the outskirts? Not sure...

But - Older side of Kellyville may reveal something interesting. I know from spending my teen years in friends places in K-ville that there are quite a lot of older properties crying out for renos. Look near Our Lady of the Rosary school (OLOR). But do be wary of the older kids - Kellyville High School has an interesting reputation and Bernie Mullane sports complex (while nice at a walking/short car drive) attracts some rabble. Generally a good area though.

Will be interesting with the North West Rail Link etc.


I know someone with a couple of IPs in Stanhope Gardens, which isn't that far away from Rouse Hill etc really (although under Blacktown council). Not sure they're proving that successful and neg. geared with little growth seen. I think he's betting on the rail line to help them grow before selling out. These all tend to be newish family properties in the area.
 
Hi all

Having recently done a renovation course, im ready to cut my teeth by starting with a cosmetic reno.


So start with your PPOR. Spend this weekend painting the bedrooms, the next weekend painting the rest of the place.

One of the most important skills you need as a "professional" renovator is the ability to start and finish a job on-time and in-budget.

Use a good quality low-odor acrylic paint so it'll dry quickly and minimise smell. With the mould problems caused by the wet winter we've had in Sydney, next time I paint it'll ALL be in Dulux MouldShield for ceilings and walls.
 
sydney reno opportunities

Thanks all for your replies. Very useful indeed. Rajnhets where is your place in western syd and how did you come to choose that suburb?

Somersoft rocks

cheers

JJ
 
What course was it?

I know the first thing Cherie Barbers course teaches you is how to identify which suburbs are good for doing renos. Once you've picked an area concentrate on 2-3 suburbs max and REALLY know them eg which streets are good, type of houses buyers want, what they are willing to pay estra for etc etc.
 
What course was it?

I know the first thing Cherie Barbers course teaches you is how to identify which suburbs are good for doing renos. Once you've picked an area concentrate on 2-3 suburbs max and REALLY know them eg which streets are good, type of houses buyers want, what they are willing to pay estra for etc etc.

Yes travelbug, it was the Cherie Barber 3 day sydney course. Just hard to know where to get max bang for your renovating buck. Ive only narrowed it down to areas north of the sydney cbd so far ( just my comfort level and to make things somehow more manageable)

cheers
 
To bring up and slightly derail an old thread - I know Cherie says to become an expert in your chosen area, but I also know that some of her students have renovated in regional areas eg Wagga, but they live in Sydney.

So my question is, especially for anyone who's done her course - how does one become an expert in an area if they don't live relatively close? You can't attend open for inspections, or drive past when the agent calls with a new listing... etc.

Cheers
 
you can become an expert at anything you put your mind to.

due diligence comes in many forms.

i wonder how the op went, and why the qs if been to course.

i presumed whole sections of her course material would lay out detailed answers to the q.
 
you can become an expert at anything you put your mind to.

due diligence comes in many forms.

i wonder how the op went, and why the qs if been to course.

i presumed whole sections of her course material would lay out detailed answers to the q.

Yes the course details this. She has many many checklists etc for this purpose.
Agree, you don't need to live in an area to be an expert in it. There's stats, development proposals, infrastructure knowledge, past sales data etc etc, that are helpful.
 
Agree, you don't need to live in an area to be an expert in it.

Agreed, but how do you get around not being able to attend open for inspections for 3 months etc prior to purchasing? And in general, looking at the properties as they come up. A lot of the suburb knowledge and insight depends on being on the ground doing the legwork in person. That's partly why Cherie says to pick 2-3 geographically proximal suburbs, not just so the demographics are similar but so you can physically be there for inspections without having to drive half way across the city each time.
 
Agreed, but how do you get around not being able to attend open for inspections for 3 months etc prior to purchasing? And in general, looking at the properties as they come up. A lot of the suburb knowledge and insight depends on being on the ground doing the legwork in person. That's partly why Cherie says to pick 2-3 geographically proximal suburbs, not just so the demographics are similar but so you can physically be there for inspections without having to drive half way across the city each time.

I have managed to do this/renos in Sydney, QLD, USA and my own backyard in Perth.
I always do the homework on areas which I will target and then I employ a BA to source/secure the property/ies and have the costings of the reno upfront prior to purchase.
I do not do any of the reno work myself.

These have generally been for cashflow not flipping.

Yes, it would be easier if you could find these in your own backyard but sometimes there are better deals elsewhere or there is a rising market and a good time to jump in.

MTR
 
Thanks MTR, I'd happily renovate from a distance but not for flipping. I want to buy (using a BA) renovate and hold in Newcastle but not enough cash atm :(

When you say you have your reno costings prior to purchase - do you use a renovation company/builder for the actual reno and do they do the reno figures for you since you're interstate?

Cheers
 
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