DIY sucks

[ltk333]

Hi All,

So I've recently purchased my second IP... this time, rather than an apartment in Bluechip Sydney which is now CF+, it's a big block of land with a 'old-character home' in Adelaide [AKA. Albatross]

My strategy this time around is still long term yield - but the reno's are aimed at increasing the yield (the property is by far the worst on the best street) to get it more in-line with surrounding properties - which will bring me very close (but still not yet) neutral...

I'm too days into the execution phase of my project, and I've almost already decided that it's time to ring the tradie's.

Case in point: I've spend 3 hours trying to fix a window (wooden style, spring was broken so had to custom order in new ones. Sand, sand again, wood chipped, oh ****... should I glue... sand... ring glazier...)

I'm just not cut out for DIY.

Has anyone else had this realisation mid way through a reno?

 

[Dazz]

Has anyone else had this realisation mid way through a reno?

No, but we got it about 6 months after we finished.

Funnily enough, it was our 2nd IP as well. Old house on a big block. Rubbish yield. Rubbish Tenants.

We spent a bunch of money, even more time, and buckets of sweat and back breaking work to get it right.

Transformed it completely. Looked smicko.

Installed Tenants thought it'd be a great laugh to trash it again, worse than before.

We vowed - "Never again" !!!

We've stuck to that vow, and it's been great.

You can make money from renos....but seriously, out of the myriad ways to make money, renos would have to be the hardest of the lot.

Good luck....looks like you're one of the smart ones and realised early that it's a mugs game....especially residential renos.

 

[Aaron_C]

That's because in commercial renos it's the tenant who pays for it...

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Old wooden windows can be a real pane sometimes.
Often it's easier just to replace the whole window.

It's small details like these which are often overlooked, but they are the ones that take up the most time.

 

[arms]

Hi All,

So I've recently purchased my second IP... this time, rather than an apartment in Bluechip Sydney which is now CF+, it's a big block of land with a 'old-character home' in Adelaide [AKA. Albatross]

My strategy this time around is still long term yield - but the reno's are aimed at increasing the yield (the property is by far the worst on the best street) to get it more in-line with surrounding properties - which will bring me very close (but still not yet) neutral...

I'm too days into the execution phase of my project, and I've almost already decided that it's time to ring the tradie's.

Case in point: I've spend 3 hours trying to fix a window (wooden style, spring was broken so had to custom order in new ones. Sand, sand again, wood chipped, oh ****... should I glue... sand... ring glazier...)

I'm just not cut out for DIY.

Has anyone else had this realisation mid way through a reno?

some people simply arnt cut out to do renos ,but that realisation is only forthcoming when they are already committed to doing one .
the diy television shows are a lot to blame for this ,what with their doing up a kitchen for $500 and a days work to completely doing over the yard within a weekend .the thing they dont tell and show you is that they have a myriad of tradespeople behind the scenes and a hundred pairs of hands also available before they start shooting and only show the general public small snippets of the true work needed to achieve the fantastic outcome .
its no wonder that people get sucked into the deep end of the pool

 

[Propertunity]

Old wooden windows can be a real pane sometimes.

That's very good. I like the play on words - pane / pain.

 

[vaughan]

That's very good. I like the play on words - pane / pain.

I"m waiting for a comment from Sash about the topic.

 

[kathryn d]

From our experience, renovating to make the property look nice for a tenant is useless.
Just because a tenant is willing to live in a 'rustic' nonglamourous property, does not make them bad. They may be saving for their own property, and are happy to pay lower rent.

When I rented, I always went for converted houses as my apartment, as they would have unusual floor plans. The houses had character.

As Dazz said, tenants will just wreck them, and you do it over again.
If your goal is to use the equity..that may be different.

 

[Dazz]

in commercial renos it's the tenant who pays for it...

Yes indeed, a most wonderful vein of wealth making via property that we never even knew about.

No cost, no effort and no time expended by the Landlord......and a much more desirable and valuable property delivered to you either at the end of the Lease or come Bank valuation time.

.....anyway.....back to sanding down old wooden window panes.

 

[PPD]

From our experience, renovating to make the property look nice for a tenant is useless.
Just because a tenant is willing to live in a 'rustic' nonglamourous property, does not make them bad. They may be saving for their own property, and are happy to pay lower rent.

When I rented, I always went for converted houses as my apartment, as they would have unusual floor plans. The houses had character.

As Dazz said, tenants will just wreck them, and you do it over again.
If your goal is to use the equity..that may be different.

I agree! Don't renovate unless you are looking to resell to home owners. I don't buy anything that needed major work & any work that needs to be done (by tradies) should always be accounted for in negotiations when you buy.

 

[wylie]

I agree! Don't renovate unless you are looking to resell to home owners. I don't buy anything that needed major work & any work that needs to be done (by tradies) should always be accounted for in negotiations when you buy.

When we have bought, we have pretty much HAD to reno, paint, sometimes re-roof, new kitchen etc in order to get maximum rent... BUT the prices we paid reflected the condition the house was in.

Of course, we could have done nothing, but the tenants we would have attracted are not the types of tenants we wanted.

So, it all comes down to paying a low enough price to allow whatever value adding is necessary to get it up to a good standard without over-capitalising.

 

[lizzie]

I really only reno my PPOR's ... but that is because I can take my time, we're doing it to max resale value and the profit is tax fee ... and I've learnt what work is best farmed out. At $30/hr I'm better off getting the handyman in who knows what he's doing (ie, repairing sash windows, building pergolas) or tradies who do a smick job in a fraction of the time it would take me (tiler) ... however, plastering, sanding, painting, demolition, flat pack, prep work, landscaping is all mine.

Nowadays, for an IP, I've only paint and carpet if required. One we put in a new 2nd hand kitchen, that was more hassle than it was worth so won't do that again. However, that being said, I will only buy something that needs paint/carpet. Doesn't worry me if the kitchen/bathroom is 30yrs old as long as it's tidy and everything works.

I did used to reno IP's for resale (flipping) but that hasn't been worth doing for around 6 years now. Used to be able to ride the market up, plus a bit for the reno. Couple of those I wish I still had!

 

[charttv]

Had a property due for a repaint. Whilst repainting noticed that all the internal doors had fist shaped impressions in them. Instinct was to fix/replace then I realised "what for?" Just so the new lot of tenants can rinse and repeat. Found new tenants just fine and the place is almost never empty. If I were to live in it would need to replace worn, stained carpet, the kitchen and bathroom but really couldn't give a toss.

Tenants can take it as is or go and jump.

 

[travelbug]

I"m waiting for a comment from Sash about the topic.

haha. I'm a bit slow today. I'm thinking "why would Sash comment".

I think you have to like renovating. It's not for everyone. It's like anything- if you like it, it's not a chore.

Personally I love it. What I can't understand people who do gardening on their days off. That to me is a chore. I'd rather rip walls out or paint.

 

[wylie]

I'm with you travelbug (but I'm a bit over painting by now).

 

[WendellR]

I hate getting in over my head on a reno. And it seems like I do it a lot. I see something that looks like it should take an hour to do, and then an hour into I'm getting frustrated and I keep discovering more problems. I think the things that I hate the most are electric and plumbing. It seems like they never go smoothly.

 

[Pa1nter]

Some people who think they do a good job at reno's are actually damaging the house beyond repair.

 

[pennyk]

Some people who think they do a good job at reno's are actually damaging the house beyond repair.

my hubby and I pretty much fall into this category (except we know that we're not good at renos!! ).

Its not just the damaging the house, or not doing a good job... its the fact that we never finish the job.

I would rather focus on what we do well (working and earning money), and pay someone else to do what they do well.

So we need to structure our investment strategy around that.. no "fixer-uppers" for us!

 

[arms]

Some people who think they do a good job at reno's are actually damaging the house beyond repair.

i have lost count of the times i have had to quote on a job in a diy home and had to force myself to lie when the owner proudly tells me that they did all the work themselves and isnt it great ,

 

[wylie]

i have lost count of the times i have had to quote on a job in a diy home and had to force myself to lie when the owner proudly tells me that they did all the work themselves and isnt it great ,

Hubby is a good "tradie" but was left in the lurch by a neighbour who asked if he would share the cost of a cement truck and pumper. They would do neighbour's slab with hubby helping, then both jump over and do our slab

Neighbour got his slab all nice with hubby and neighbour's FIL helping. Finished the pour and low and behold, they needed to finish their slab, so hubby runs to our place, directs the pour, cement truck has run out of cement and truck is needed elsewhere. Neighbour and his FIL don't come over to help AT ALL. Gee thanks guys that is really neighbourly .

Hubby ends up spreading the cement, which is drying really fast, as well as he can over the whole slab thinking he will have to get another load and top the lot. So it looks like a rough stucco finish. Not something he was proud of, but the best he could do on his own after thinking there would be two men helping.

Tiler comes to quote... we are standing there and his first words on seeing the pretty rough slab "Gees mate, who did your slab, it's pretty BAD!".

Was funny then and even funnier now. Topping slab went on and tiled over now, but what a low act on our neighbour's part. Their slab ended up beautiful, whilst hubby is scrabbling about on his own.