What are people's thoughts on Rendering as a value ad? Paying a professional do you think it would be a ROI?
I think there's a perception out there that any rendering is a good value add. However, I believe each property should be assessed individually as to whether it will work for them or not.
One of the first things I look at is whether there are other rendered houses in the suburb if the majority of dwellings are brick. If the suburb is full of un-renovated brick homes on similar land size, similar specs, then I don't believe rendering will add much more value than what you spend.
However, if you render a house which is in a suburb where there are a variety of house styles - and you do it well (together with new balustrades, landscaping, perhaps painting roof etc) then it can make a huge difference.
Seldom does rendering on it's own look any good. I think there needs to be some trim and decorative changes at the same time. These don't need to be expensive, they just need to be clever; and suit the style of the house. The problem often arises when you have old style anodized window frames which can't be replaced because of budget.
Here are some before and after photos from a client of mine in Sydney...
Before
After
Now, on the other hand its good to know that rendering is not always necessary. I have designed plenty of renovations where the client originally thought they wanted to render but it didn't make sense financially - so we made a few clever tweaks to improve the look of the exterior. Here are a few pictures from one of my clients...
Before
After