Some figures
Coolie has asked me to provide some figures and further details... being a private person I am a little hesitant however much of this information is in the public domain anyhow.
The house is on a 600m2 block about 7km south of Brisbane city.
Paid $440K for it
Originally budgeted $20K to fix it up.... (though that was blown out of the water yesterday)
When done we hope it is valued at around $510 - $520
That isn't a huge increase but being our first reno attempt we still have a lot to learn.
Lesson one is builders and quotes. I have a builder who I like but I feel I may be getting ripped a bit on price as we are getting close to xmas and it is hard to get a tradie. Basically he wants $6K to install new front steps and railing + replace some rotten floor boards - that was kind of a huge shock to me as when I had the building inspection I asked the guy how much he reckoned they would cost to replace and he said about $3K.
For a new bathroom I am looking at almost $7K... that is to rip out most of the asbestos walls and tile, install a completely new shower and do the plumbing new taps for bath, vanity etc + supply and install a toilet. The bath stays and the floor doesn't need to be tiled. The bathroom is really small so I was expecting closer to $5K
Kitchen is another great lesson - such variety. I originally and am still looking at the bunnings flat pac stuff. I wanted a white vinyl wrap with laminate benchtop - that would probably cost about $3500 + getting someone to cut/install the benchtop + handles.
I have looked at a few other suppliers around Brisbane of varying quality and prices - up to $6K. I found an interesting guy this weekend who has good quality 2-pac kitchens (some are crap and chip) - he would supply all cupboards and handles of my choice for $3400. He doesn't do laminate benchtops but seems to have Granite available at a price that is very competitve with laminate!!! (never thought I would find that). The problem is that installing Granite is much more expensive than getting my tradie to install the laminate.
So yeah some tough financial decisions this week. I am looking at talking to my tradie about his prices and maybe trying to get another quote for the deck at least. .... anyone know someone in Brisbane who makes decks/stairs?
Cheers McDeyess,
PS. Hoping my trifecta comes through in the cup today... that might make these decisions a bit easier