Once upon a time there was a girl who felt like painting something

As I always enjoy a reno story with before and after shots and there doesn’t seem to have been many on here of late I thought I’d share this with anyone whose interested.

It was Aug09 and I felt like painting something... so I purchased a property for the princely sum of $149k.

It was a deceased estate, a 3 bed house on a 700sqm block 40 minutes from Melbourne CBD.

I set a budget of 5% of the purchase price ($7k) and a 6 week time frame. I kept under budget but the time frame blew out to 10 weeks, mainly due to work commitments and not being able to take more time off. I initially took 8 days off work and then spent all the following weekends and some midweek nights working on it. I hadn’t factored in it being winter so things took longer to dry and there was less daylight to work with! Also it was 1.5hrs round trip from my house which added to the tiredness factor.

I had previously reno’d my own place so I felt that this was in the realms of my own abilities, I figured I could always get the experts in if need be. The outside had been quite well maintained so only the inside needed attention, all pretty standard stuff. I recycled or rejuvenated as much of the existing fixtures and fittings as i could and experimented with various paint products.

Whole house - Paint every wall, ceiling and window frame. Take up carpet, vinyl & tiles, polish floorboards. New light fittings & blinds for every window. Replace some broken glass panes. Replace RCD and smoke alarms. Install new toilet. Serviced the hot water system and gas heater as no one knew when these were last used.

Bathroom - Paint wall tiles, tile the floor, design and make new vanity. Fix leaky shower, add new tapware, install exhaust fan.

Kitchen – Replace oven, install range hood, paint kitchen cupboards & replace laminate bench top.


Upon completion I engaged a PM (recommended by a SS'er) and within 3 days a tenant had signed a 12mth lease @ $225!!


I put together a brief video of some pics, it’s not great quality as photos were taken on a mobile.

http://www.youtube.com/user/chasethesunrenos


And so far it's happily ever after...

Added the final budget
 

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Hi Rob,

No havent had it revalued yet, waiting for the ripple to arrive :)

I've added the budget now, seems my version of excel is abit more current than the ss.

Under budget! Well done.
Hope you get a good valuation, when the time comes.
Will you take cash out via loan top up?
 
As I always enjoy a reno story with before and after shots and there doesn’t seem to have been many on here of late I thought I’d share this with anyone whose interested.


Wow, you did a terrific job!

I've never really considered doing a buy-renovate-rent deal but your story has got me thinking.
 
Awwhh thanks everyone, this is nicer than reading my Ebay feedback :)

I am impressed with what has been done for little expense
What area of outer Melbourne is it?
A povo surburb near Geelong :)

Hope you get a good valuation, when the time comes.
Will you take cash out via loan top up?
I need to either pay down some debt or increase my serviceability before i can go on :(

I've never really considered doing a buy-renovate-rent deal but your story has got me thinking.
Hey if i can, anyone can!
 
Nice job!

You should also include in your spreadsheet the finance cost for the 10 weeks it took to do the reno, ie the cost of the mortgage while the property remained vacant. Almost everyone leaves this out, especially those who use "sweat equity" to get the job done by spending their time and saving on getting someone else to do it, as it makes the numbers look prettier.

So, say if it was a 90% lend, and you didn't have early access to do the reno (meaning you started paying a mortgage from day 1), then 10 weeks at 6.5% interest only would be about $1676.
 
Nice job!

You should also include in your spreadsheet the finance cost for the 10 weeks it took to do the reno, ie the cost of the mortgage while the property remained vacant. Almost everyone leaves this out, especially those who use "sweat equity" to get the job done by spending their time and saving on getting someone else to do it, as it makes the numbers look prettier.

So, say if it was a 90% lend, and you didn't have early access to do the reno (meaning you started paying a mortgage from day 1), then 10 weeks at 6.5% interest only would be about $1676.

Thanks mja- Actually I didn't leave out the interest or the holding costs, I have these on another sheet (I have lots of sheets :))

This budget sheet was purely for the purpose of me setting aside x amount of dollars and seeing if I could stick to it. I had initially allowed up to $15k to cover for any unknowns and then once I started I decided to pare it back and keep it under $7k.

Some of these items are tools and supplies that I can use on the next one, but as I still had to pay for them I included the total cost of purchasing them in this budget. ie The cost would be even lower if i apportioned what I actually used on this property, but I'm not that anal lol!

Nice work chasethesun. Inspiring stuff indeed.:)

Really great work, bet you're exhausted!
Place looks wonderful now, congrats.

Thanks Tuppence & Brrmm, I appreciate the comments :)
 
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