How to project manage a reno while working full time?

[JayOh]

Hi!

We have just exchanged contracts for our first house - a 2-bedder in Auburn.

The house is livable but we would like to do some work on it to attract a better tenant and rent. And also hopefully an improved bank valuation.

We need to paint inside and probably out (its all timber), renovate the bathroom, probably remove carpets if the floorboards are good, basic landscaping for front and rear, maybe some electrical work too.

I'm not capable of doing any of this work. I could probably manage ripping up carpets.. I'm ok at painting but this would take me weeks and we'd rather have the house back on the rental market asap. I can only really afford to take a week off work at the moment too.

So I'm not sure how to manage this process - I'll need to get a bunch of tradies in to quote and then do the work. But how do I go about letting them in every day and staying on top of the work? I can take a week off, but if it takes longer, or gets delayed etc it could get tricky...

Would it be safer to find a builder or tradie who can project manage the whole thing?

How do others manage reno work and full time work?

 

[goonandtell]

We manage ours with key safes and email.

I haven't met half of ours and and some haven't met either me or my gf.

I tend to contact 3 or 4 trade, have a chat about the job let them know the location and get them to walk through and give a ball park quote. From there i pick me 1 or 2 prefered options and depending if they are completly unknown or recommended will either meet them before, after work, the weekend or sometimes not at all.

Write down instructions of each thing i want with a dodgy floor plan sketch, depending on the person i will either get a firm quote or agree on a ball park and an invoice. I check up on the weekends and tend to hold payment until i have had a chance to look at it (i let them know this).

We now have our 'prefered' list but most have been sourced via this method and where all new at one stage.

'Renovate' the bathroom is a very vauge term if you can't do some of it there are quite a few trades that need to duck in and out around each other if you are not experienced this could be a little difficult depending on what you are trying to achieve. I would go a project manager for this rather than a 'handyman' as while the good ones are great the bad ones soemtimes get a little bit over confident.

 

[Jane - Hotspace]

Hi JayOh,

Yes I think you definately need to get someone to help you with this. Its essential that the site is visited most days if possible to minimise errors etc. which is what will cause cost/time over-runs.

For the size of this project, you might get away with paying one of the tradies to keep on top of the reno for you. If you can make it to the property once or twice a week that would be ideal too.

Or, you could engage a specialist project manager. However, their costs may eat in to your profit a bit too much. I would suggest running some numbers on:
a) Cost to pay project manager = more likely to keep your project on time and on budget which means you won't over-spend and your property will be back on the market in a snap. But their fees will be higher than someone doing it as a favour.
b) Paying one of the tradies to manage your project for you = more risk that the project goes over budget/over time but less up-front cost.

You can minimise the risk of chaos on site and of blowing your budget by clarifying exactly everything you want to do to the property (and I mean absolutely every little detail - colours, materials, suppliers, supply costs, labour costs etc of every single item) before you begin. It's great that you have lots of renovating ideas, but you need to put a fine tip on them before you begin.

Also allow a contingency for extras which you will need - especially if this is your first reno (I have been designing and renovating for 20 years and I still need my contingencies sometimes!).

I hope that helps - good luck with the reno.

 

[travelbug]

There seem to be lots of people looking for people to project manage.

I might quit my job and take up project managing. I would love that. Plus I'm pretty handy with a hammer and saw.

 

[pennyk]

We are time and skill poor, and we've always contacted a builder to quote on the full job, and they've project managed the lot. I imagine we pay more this way, but for us its worth it, cause they always arrive and leave on time and everything is managed professionally and in a coordinated way.

 

[JayOh]

Thanks for the tips. We'll do some research and have a chat with a few builders / renovators and see how we go.

 

[JayOh]

There seem to be lots of people looking for people to project manage.

I might quit my job and take up project managing. I would love that. Plus I'm pretty handy with a hammer and saw.

There may well be a new career path for you there!

Are the hammer and saw for keeping the team motivated and on task?

 

[willair]

Would it be safer to find a builder or tradie who can project manage the whole thing?

Find a lic builder and have him-her quote the total,the only part that would be the worry factor is the bathroom because they can be a serious problem area from start to finish and several trades,i would not go with one of these flash in the pan fast bucks PM,s very few are lic and most have the TV RENO QUICK DANGEROUS HALF AN HOUR MINDset, after all they see it on tv and think that's the building game,,, because the bottom line is they no very little about what happens in the real world just like all those quick fix reno shows,none are lic to do trade work from Plumbing Building Elec's Painting,and those PM's still have to employ lic people,all they do is turn up each day and cause more problem for everyone ,then you get all the trades thinking stuff this,and pack up and work for people that don't complain..

 

[Honest John]

I'd recommend being on site every day. It all depends how important it is for you? Are you in it for a quick buck or the long haul? I've seen hundreds of posts here and other sites where people don't want to get their hands dirty or don't want to pay for expert advice, then complain they've been ripped off; no you've allowed yourself to be ripped off because you took short-cuts! That's why crooked builders are rife and are getting away with it - you're a cash cow.

Good luck.

 

[redwing]

Hi!

We have just exchanged contracts for our first house - a 2-bedder in Auburn.

The house is livable but we would like to do some work on it to attract a better tenant and rent. And also hopefully an improved bank valuation.

We need to paint inside and probably out (its all timber), renovate the bathroom, probably remove carpets if the floorboards are good, basic landscaping for front and rear, maybe some electrical work too.

I'm not capable of doing any of this work. I could probably manage ripping up carpets.. I'm ok at painting but this would take me weeks and we'd rather have the house back on the rental market asap. I can only really afford to take a week off work at the moment too.

So I'm not sure how to manage this process - I'll need to get a bunch of tradies in to quote and then do the work. But how do I go about letting them in every day and staying on top of the work? I can take a week off, but if it takes longer, or gets delayed etc it could get tricky...

Would it be safer to find a builder or tradie who can project manage the whole thing?

How do others manage reno work and full time work?

Starting with this first

How do others manage reno work and full time work?

I was working nightshift some years back and the wife dayshift, I used to go home, have 4 hrs sleep and then the alarm would go off and I'd be off to the property to do some work. The wife would go to the property before & after work and her father who was working also helped out after-hours

Painting Walls & Ceilings - We did this ourselves
Rippping up carpet - We did this ourselves
Laying new carpet - We acted as TA's for the Granfather who 'could' lay carpet
Reticulation Connection - We used a plumber to connect into the mains
Reticulation - We did this ourselves
Removing Palm & Fir Trees - We did this ourselves
Change Pendant to Flush Lighting - We did this ourselves
Cleaning - We did this ourselves
Gardens/landscaping - We did this ourselves

We did get in somone to put in refridgerated airconditioning units, a couple of window roller shutters and roof insulation

For Rubbish removal we had another property a few suburbs over where you get a couple of free skip-bins a year, so we ordered the skip-bin for that location and transported the rubbish daily

First weekend they moved out and by the next weekend (from memory) all was done and new tenants moved in

This was the property where we learnt that if no undercoat has been put on the ceilings original paint-work, your new paint job will peel it all off...this resulted in additional work, a tall ladder and a paint scraper

The tree roots and subesquent holes went below waist deep, axes and a chain saw (hired) helped tidy up, then the holes were backfilled

I think "sweat equity" is the term

Plus we'd extended ourselves on the loan and needed to DIY as we couldn't justify spending extra $

<edit>

Oh yeah, got in a professional painter to do the doors with enamel

 

[chrispy]

The secret is building up a team of tradies that you can trust and being prepared to work any spare hours you have, if you want to do it at the lowest possible price.

I do as much as I can myself and have the tradies go in and do the specialised jobs.

I have a secure hidey spot at each property for the key and let the tradies know where it is.

It works for me but I have been doing it for many years, so have built up a good team that I can rely on

Chris

 

[travelbug]

There may well be a new career path for you there!

Are the hammer and saw for keeping the team motivated and on task?

Haha. Not not needed so far. We do a lot ourselves so only really need to organise a plumber and the bathroom tiling. Friend is an electrician. We just spend every afternoon and weekend for 5 weeks then it's finished (complete reno). After the last one I flew to Bali for lots of massages. aaahhh!!!

 

[Wise1InOz]

We are time and skill poor, and we've always contacted a builder to quote on the full job, and they've project managed the lot. I imagine we pay more this way, but for us its worth it, cause they always arrive and leave on time and everything is managed professionally and in a coordinated way.

Hi - I asked my builder to provide a quote for the bathroom job - he replied he doesn't provide quotes and he and his assistants work on an "hourly basis". When I insisted on a quote he now says he can't work for us as he can't satisfy our requirements

He was also extremely annoyed that I didn't choose any of his sub-contractors for painting (was charging over $3,000 compared to the next best quote!!), insulation (difference of $1000 from next best quote for same product), flooring (up $2000). Oh well, he's walked half-way through the project without any notice He probably thought we will yield to pressure and simply agree with whatever he says, thankfully that won't be the case. This won't stop us moving as we have one functioning bathroom and toilet.

 

[b simpson]

I'm probably going to do this later this year, except i'll be in WA and the house will be in Sydney.

I have many friends in Sydney to help oversee things, but the 3 hour time difference is a real pain - especially when i get phone calls at 4am WA time

 

[beachgurl]

We bought a property that needed a decent reno prior to tenancy. We lived over 3 hours from the property so couldn't reno it ourselves. The agent we bought it from offered to get quotes from the tradies on their books. We then Ok'ed the work and the tradies got the keys from the agent. Think we paid $200 to have the agency manage this for us. The work we had done included gyprocking, painting, carpet, blinds, appliance repair and a few handyman jobs.

 

[JayOh]

Was this in a metro area?

I'm not sure if I would do this with the agent we are purchasing through. I was going to speak with a couple of the local agents regarding property management and to get a better idea of the types of renters in the area - families or singles sharing... Might also ask if they would be able to recommend tradies and provide access.

On another note, we just got the bank valuation and it has come in at the discounted price we negotiated. I'm concerned now that the cost of renovation will not add significantly to the value of the property... The house still seems cheap for the area though, and reasonable value, but no safety margin..

We bought a property that needed a decent reno prior to tenancy. We lived over 3 hours from the property so couldn't reno it ourselves. The agent we bought it from offered to get quotes from the tradies on their books. We then Ok'ed the work and the tradies got the keys from the agent. Think we paid $200 to have the agency manage this for us. The work we had done included gyprocking, painting, carpet, blinds, appliance repair and a few handyman jobs.

 

[JayOh]

Hi - I asked my builder to provide a quote for the bathroom job - he replied he doesn't provide quotes and he and his assistants work on an "hourly basis". When I insisted on a quote he now says he can't work for us as he can't satisfy our requirements

He was also extremely annoyed that I didn't choose any of his sub-contractors for painting (was charging over $3,000 compared to the next best quote!!), insulation (difference of $1000 from next best quote for same product), flooring (up $2000). Oh well, he's walked half-way through the project without any notice He probably thought we will yield to pressure and simply agree with whatever he says, thankfully that won't be the case. This won't stop us moving as we have one functioning bathroom and toilet.

Have you used this builder before? Or was this a new experience?

 

[Wise1InOz]

Have you used this builder before? Or was this a new experience?

New experience! I am just glad that we're not stressed by all this - we're taking each experience as it come and learning from it. Thankfully, I did not attempt to do too many things (kitchen, all bathrooms, etc or give all jobs to one builder) at once. Just started with the bathrooms. Was a wise decision in hindsight given our lack of experience in renovating as well as dealing with builders/tradies...etc.

 

[Jacque]

On another note, we just got the bank valuation and it has come in at the discounted price we negotiated. I'm concerned now that the cost of renovation will not add significantly to the value of the property... The house still seems cheap for the area though, and reasonable value, but no safety margin..

Bank valuations come in at purchase price about 95% of the time, in my experience (hundreds of properties) Don't be alarmed- even if you believe you bought under-market value, this is fairly common.

Best of luck with locating someone to project manage for you.

 

[beachgurl]

JayOh, the place we bought was in Orange. No harm in asking the local agents around Auburn, the worst they can say is no.