old fibro reno

Hello, I have found an old 2 bed fibro and would love some advice on how I could spruse it up to increase the rental yield?

http://www.realestate.com.au/proper...west-104933905?tm=1268950811&c=78577480&t=res

I know there will be issues with asbestos etc. I'm not really interested in the house, it's the land I'm after. But I want to make a decent return on it until I can develop later on down the track.

What sort of things do I need to consider when renovating a fibro house? We only wanted to give it new floors, paint, very cheap kitchen and bathroom but were hesitant with the asbestos issue.

Any advice or tips would be great!
 
I wouldn't do a thing with it. What is the rent now, and how much would you get with a new kitchen and bathroom?

I would buy it, hold it and not spend a cent on new kitchen or bathroom, especially if you will knock it down some time.
 
thanks for the quick reply... they want 128K for it and we are going to offer 110k and see how that goes. There are tenants in there at the moment on a periodic lease for $120 per week. So, if they decide to leave, you dont think we should do anything at all before new tenants move in??

We wont be in a position to develop for a number of years... this will be our first property purchase.
 
I tend to agree with Wylie unless the kitchen is falling apart and not serviceable or healthy. I'd make sure all appliances ie stove, hotplates etc are safe if not replace.

As for painting depends on the condition I guess only you can tell that.

Have fun
Brian
 
Paint, curtains, carpet.

Kitchen.......I'd paint the fake wood white-ish, do something with the benchtop (either new or tiles or ??); splashback-paint white-ish with tile paint.

Bathroom......paint the drawers of the vanity so it's all one colour (white-ish); floor - eeek um depends what it is, maybe vinyl it

Just my advice, but good luck with it.
 
Hi there - yes I agree with Wylie and co.

You will find that you'll be spending upwards of $20k to make any sort of difference to the property - probably not worth the investment if you're planning on pulling it down in the next 5 years.

I help clients renovate old dungers all the time - but I wouldn't consider this a good 'reno for profit' project.

If this was my property and planning on holding for a few years as you are, I would look at just replacing the curtains throughout and perhaps the green kitchen bench-top and replace the bathroom vanity. Spend max of $3k-$4k if anything at all.

Well done on getting advice from other investors - be wary of people who have all the creativity in the world and lots of ideas for your reno but who are not looking at the property purely from an investment perspective.

Hope that helps!
 
The house ad makes it sound like a good location...

I'm in a similar position to you, Happy, so am interested in what people think about this investment. Is asbestos as bad as it sounds? I wouldn't have considered touching a place with it, as it has to be removed by professionals if you want to do anything with it.

How much are you looking at to bulldoze the house and clear the land?
 
i would spend some money on the exterior , go through the period paints shown on some dulux colour charts , they have some great pictures with similial aged homes on them , please note the small timber pieces that you can buy and then paint to enhance the front , and paint the picket fence , new paint will make that house and nice home.
 
realistically - this is a 2 bedder in port augusta.

i'm with wylie and co. probably need some panel stuff on the bathroom walls as looks like bare fibre cement, paint the green walls in a white or off white and that'd be it. i wouldn't bother with the kitchen as looks okay.

now, if it were port lincoln i'd suggest a fair bit more ....
 
Is this even a detached house? There are so many attached houses in Pt Augusta I'd be checking this first. And Pt Augusta has good bits and bad bits so you really really need to know your area.

If you really want a cheap fibro that is in a *better* location and has *more* potential (large corner block + rear lane access, very close to shops/schools/everything), PM me. Its in a very good location in Whyalla. Just trying to help out some folks who need to sell a house in fairly short order, once it is cleaned out.

I couldn't tell you what it would be worth though. Certainly would cost more than a 2br in Pt Augusta.

Edit: actually having looked at what is for sale, make that about $140-150k max ... older stuff is pretty cheap in Whyalla ...
 
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Is this even a detached house? There are so many attached houses in Pt Augusta I'd be checking this first. And Pt Augusta has good bits and bad bits so you really really need to know your area.

If you really want a cheap fibro that is in a *better* location and has *more* potential (large corner block + rear lane access, very close to shops/schools/everything), PM me. Its in a very good location in Whyalla. Just trying to help out some folks who need to sell a house in fairly short order, once it is cleaned out.

I couldn't tell you what it would be worth though. Certainly would cost more than a 2br in Pt Augusta.

Edit: actually having looked at what is for sale, make that about $140-150k max ... older stuff is pretty cheap in Whyalla ...

Thanks for the offer, but my husband and I are not fond of whyalla. All that red dust - it's not a nice looking town. We like the feel of Port Augusta more - it's more touristy and has a fresh influx of people through it all the time.

We're not actually looking for an old fibro... but it looks like all we can afford (under 150K).
 
Also, about the recommendation to look at maisonnettes, I thought investor steer well clear of these unless you can buy the pair??
 
My husband inspected this property yesterday and he said he was quite surprised. He said the pictures dont do it justice. It is very large with 2 bedrooms, a huge kitchen and a toilet and laundry just outside the back door under the main roof. He said he thought, if we bought it, we'd put in cheap lino floors throughout (it has old lino and gross carpet atm), fresh paint, do something with the bathroom and a general tidy up and clean.

What does everyone think? As it is obviously full of asbestos, would these small improvements require experts to come in or could we do it ourselves?

Through a google search we found out that it has ben on the market since may last year and was listed originally for 160K. They are now wanting 128K and we think we will offer 95K and come to 105K if we have to.

Any thoughts?
 
Personally I don't like Whyalla or Pt Pirie much - they're just so dry! I've got too used to living where I am now where it is comparatively nice and green and there's a permanent watercourse. The red dust in Whyalla has actually stopped some years ago but the older side of the town is permanently stained with the stuff. Spare a thought for Pirie residents though, their town is full of lead dust and they're set to fail on their big lead reduction campaign.

Port Augusta has been growing for aaaaaaaaaaages but has definite good and bad spots. If that house is that nice and been for sale that long and the price is so heavily reduced it makes me think its in one of the 'bad' spots - it is awfully close to a lot of noisy things.

Pt Augusta isn't actually *that* touristy but does have a strong arts community. Its been developing as basically a major truckstop for the longest time (vast majority of new industry there is just that - quite industial) but within the last year or two it has sprouted less 'grotty' new businesses like the massive furniture and electrical stores you see on the way in from Adelaide. Within the last 3-5 years a lot of existing stuff has been cleaned up very nicely. The council there is doing a good job keeping the public infrastructrue looking good. At $105k you'd be doing very well though. How well do you know Pt Augusta?

I drive through Pt Augusta about once every 3-6 months and have been doing so for about 25 years so I've been watching its slow growth like some kind of weird time lapse :) But lets be racist for a moment ... there's a very high aboriginal population there and its a little disturbing driving through the town at a different time of day or week and seeing all the aboriginals asleep in the parks or on the footpaths (or worse, driving past one taking a dump - eww!)... it does make you nervous. THAT is the one thing that puts me off Pt Augusta.
 
Thanks for your input. My husband grew up in Port Augusta (lucky thing, not) and has also seen the growth. We have been living high on the west side for over 12 months (hubby is a cop).

We are very aware of the good and bad spots and hubby steers us clear of buying near his biggest clients, so to speak. The aboriginals are a problem, yes. But they seem to stay away from the west side. New estates are going in on the outskirts and although there is plenty of land available, the property we are looking at is situated in a great spot, 200m back from the gulf and a very short walk to everything.

It currently tenented at $125 per week by two guys that work at ETSA. We are going to market our property to that type of tenant; blue collar workers from ETSA, hospital, the supermarkets, prison etc. It's not big enough for a family.

Basically though, it's not the house we're after, it's the land in a great position. We have noticed an increase in general activity in the last 12 months - council works, army, mining, housing estates, cafe primo, talk about a marina etc. So we are hoping that Port Augusta will continue to grow. And lets face it... we would much rather buy something within 10km of Adelaide but we just can't get the deposit together, so we have to start somewhere.

With all that said, we are worried about the asbestos thing. If we just want to replace flooring, paint walls and do a general tidy up, do we ned to worry about the asbestos?
 
Hi,

Asbestos is not a major issue if handled correctly. I'm not sure about SA but you can get a linense to be a asbestos removalist if you so wish (qld costs about $80).

Failing that find out the requirements to remove asbestos from the council. If you are painting inside speak to your paint supplier if you can just clean with with sugar soap and paint with out any sanding no problems.

The bathroom wall sheeting is asbestos and easy to remove as its screwed on and thus should be able to be removed in full sheets and with proper handling.

Cannot say about the lino this may also be a consideration although it would need to be tested to confirm either way to be sure. There are few other things to consider if you would like to know PM me but don't be put off just because of the asbestos.

Thanks
Brian
 
First thing to do is find out how much the rent and value would improve if it was renovated. Have a local agent perform a CMA (comparative market analysis) for you, but ask them to do the comparison as though this house were already renovated to the standard you're planning.

Budget 10% max of the asking price to do a basic reno. Plan to use laminate paint. Single colour light wall/ceiling paint. Tile Paint. Maybe new benchtop. Looks like paving paint in bathrrom could be used. Paint or replace vanity etc. If you still have money at the end then replace the bath screen or even tile wet area your self with basic white tiles from a seconds warehouse. Refresh everything, and use basic light and bright colours.

Dont touch any asbestos for now. If its bare then paint it, if its broken then cover it.

Subtract your purchase and reno costs from the CMA value and you have an estimate of how much profit is in the reno. Then compare current rental prices for comparable but reno'd properties to see what the rental difference will be.

Then you'll be in a position to decide whether to reno, but I'd guess this house is ripe for it.

However you should definately have it checked to make sure you have no structural problems, otherwise you may then have to start removing asbestos to fix issues.
 
If you are happy with the current rent (or marginally more) then do nothing. If there is a capacity to increase the rent with a reno then do the numbers. Personally I want to get my reno cost by 2 years or less of extra rent.

I took it that you are buying this with the intent of redeveloping in which case I think you need to concentrate on the blocks potential in this regard.

I think you really need to find out from council what you can actually do on the block and not assume that just because its a corner block that you can construct 2 houses.

Based on developing its a small block compared to its neighbors its also flat to the water which may effect resale compared to those built further up the hill. Its a very short set back from the road which may be impacted by a development which may not be allowed.

Just some thoughts.

Cheers
 
If you know the area, it sounds like a good buy - just don't go drilling or anything into the asbestos. Its fine if you don't create dust.

As to the fibro in Whyalla I mentioned earlier, I saw it on the weekend. Turns out its been extended. Its 3br + lounge + kitchen + 2 extra rooms that used to be used for a home business and only needs the colour scheme flicked over to neutral (unless you like yellow) and some storage cupboards removed, so whichever REA gets it I can see advertising it as a 4br. Utterly immaculate house, pristene yard and sheds, unless the rellies get in there and start stripping the big split system airconditioners, HWS etc. Still think it would be a bloody fantastic investment opportunity, especially being 50m away from the TAFE and uni.
 
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