cheap ways to add value
- Thread starter r3ckless
- Start date
Paint
Flooring
Lighting
Generally in that order. Biggest bang for buck almost every time.
Flooring
Lighting
Generally in that order. Biggest bang for buck almost every time.
+1 on this especially for the kitchen. Putting modern handles on a newly painted older style kitchen can make it look like a whole new kitchen.
Painting, floor coverings, blinds & door handles are all definitely worth doing if the property is a bit dated or run down.. a few things you could cosider if the property doesn't have them are:
Air conditioning
Garage or Shed
Deck or Patio
Security screens (depending on the suburb, I would only do this in cheap areas)
I know these arn't as cheap but they can give a great return if the property is missing any of these
Air conditioning
Garage or Shed
Deck or Patio
Security screens (depending on the suburb, I would only do this in cheap areas)
I know these arn't as cheap but they can give a great return if the property is missing any of these
Amazing what a new coat of paint can do.. For a 3bed townhouse I did last weekend I spent $250 tops for the paint and materials (putty and sandpaper to fix up the holes/grooves). Looks great now.
Second biggest (low $) improvement would have been the bark mulch spread over the gardens for $100. It went from looking like the moon with a few scattered plants, to a lush oasis.
$1.50 for a 2.5litre bottle of bleach from Aldi to get rid of the mould in the grout (kitchen/bathroom). Nice and bright white now.
New floor coverings make a massive difference, but they're not exactly cheap.
Second biggest (low $) improvement would have been the bark mulch spread over the gardens for $100. It went from looking like the moon with a few scattered plants, to a lush oasis.
$1.50 for a 2.5litre bottle of bleach from Aldi to get rid of the mould in the grout (kitchen/bathroom). Nice and bright white now.
New floor coverings make a massive difference, but they're not exactly cheap.
Hi r3ckless,
Go for street appeal if you're going for a reval. I believe this is one of the first places to spend money when looking for value add. Here are a few pics from some clients of mine. Very simple but added good value in conjunction with internal upgrades.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
(I'm limited to attaching 5 images per post. After photo here... http://hotspaceconsultants.com/sneak-peak/42-station-lake-road)
Another great way to add value is to open up spaces - remove walls between rooms eg kitchen and dining/lounge etc. People love this (especially families - if they are your target market).
I agree updating kitchen and bathrooms adds value but a blanket statement to update these I'm sure is rather unhelpful! There are some great, relatively easy ways to update kitchens and bathrooms, including resurfacing products, new splash-backs, handles, vanity etc (depending on room). It's easy to strip a room and start again (if you have a lazy $8-$10k hanging around for your bathroom and $10-$15k for a new kitchen!) but not everyone has the money - or the type of property that warrants that kind of spend.
I hope that gives you a bit of inspiration!
Go for street appeal if you're going for a reval. I believe this is one of the first places to spend money when looking for value add. Here are a few pics from some clients of mine. Very simple but added good value in conjunction with internal upgrades.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
(I'm limited to attaching 5 images per post. After photo here... http://hotspaceconsultants.com/sneak-peak/42-station-lake-road)
Another great way to add value is to open up spaces - remove walls between rooms eg kitchen and dining/lounge etc. People love this (especially families - if they are your target market).
I agree updating kitchen and bathrooms adds value but a blanket statement to update these I'm sure is rather unhelpful! There are some great, relatively easy ways to update kitchens and bathrooms, including resurfacing products, new splash-backs, handles, vanity etc (depending on room). It's easy to strip a room and start again (if you have a lazy $8-$10k hanging around for your bathroom and $10-$15k for a new kitchen!) but not everyone has the money - or the type of property that warrants that kind of spend.
I hope that gives you a bit of inspiration!
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
