Dear Diary
Well, I've just unpacked all the painting clobber yet again, after one week of frantic redecorating, repairs & maintenance.
My 'medical centre' house, after standing empty for eighteen months, now has someone living in it.
I said to a friend - partly as a joke - 'Well, you can live in the medical centre', and she rang me the next day and said 'I'll take it'. 'What' says I, 'You really need to see it first!'
So we inspected the holes in the walls where the asbestos removal crew had ripped the wall board away, the holes in the ceilings where the possum poo fell through into neat heaps on the floor below, the gap where the stove used to be, the wires hanging from the walls and ceilings, the tiles off the bathroom walls, the cistern which poured into the bowl unless the water was turned off at the meter, the powdery mildew on the walls and ceilings, the wallpaper hanging in artistic curls from the walls, the general dirt and neglect.
'Yep, I'll take it' she said (for $60 per week for a full size two bedroom plus rumpus room house). 'Can I move in on Friday?'
So move in she & children did. In the week inbetween, I have scrubbed all walls, window frames & windows, removed wallpaper to find large areas of the skim coat had gone from the horsehair plaster, repaired, primed and painted the whole kitchen / meals area, repainted ceiling and walls in mildewed bedroom, had the power reconnected, organised the gas and reinstalled the gas stove (the electrician had it in his shed - but that's another story), scrubbed the grease from the kitchen ceiling (all 9' ceilings) and pulled the carpet down through the ventilator holes (carpet had been laid in the roof space to stop draughts) resulting in a possum poo shower, scrubbed and refitted the ventilator grills, had new berber carpet & underlay fitted throughout the house, new cistern, bathroom walls retiled where necessary, all curtains washed, ironed and rehung (many fittings snapped from age and needed replacing), replaced 1970s lightfittings, repaired all holes in walls and ceilings resulting in entrapped possum which then chewed through live wires in wall necessitating in the return of the electrician meanwhile wall boards were unscrewed and boards leant up against wall for rather weak possum to climb down and escape outside (after running around the house, up curtains, lotsa poos etc) (by the way, safety circuits do work - the possum actually ate the live wires and lived to tell the tale), waiting to see if hot water service still worked, pulled all junk mail from long grass at front gate, installed letter box with 'No Junk Mail' sign, swept, packed up, got home, can't wait to do it all again.
The outside still looks like a badly neglected house - eave boards missing, broken architraves, long grass, base boards missing etc but inside it is just lovely!
Mind you, I've spent about 18 months worth of future rent in getting the place ready, but now can finally claim the interest etc on my tax. As a capital asset I could only capitalise interest and expense, as an income producing asset I can bring all outgoings into the taxation pie so although that does not in itself compensate for renting the property at about $120 - $140 per week less that it would fetch if the outside was in better repair, it would probably cost another $5,000 to finish the outside so the expense/income equation just about balances out in the short-term.
What is it about renovating houses which is so enjoyable? Is it the sweat, the dirt, the chapped hands, the broken nails, the crawling about pulling nails from floorboards, the 7am to 10pm days, the satisfaction of standing back and seeing the house come awake, come alive, knowing it was your work, your imagination, which made it happen?
To take a house from 'Oh' to 'Oooh' in a week is just a fantastic feeling. To see someone's face when they walk in the door and they realise how much work has been done 'just for them', is such a buzz.
When I was working on Myrtle Cottage, I went to an auction a few streets away, got chatting with the vendor (didn't realise at the time, think I insulted him over a few things, oh well!). He had bought, renovated and sold 17 houses in the past two to three years. He worked as a floor polisher and the houses were his paying hobby. If he earnt $10,000 clear after all buying, selling and renovation expense per house, he would have earnt a cool $170,000 for his evening and weekend work during that time.
But more than that, he loved doing the work, took pride in the painting and presentation, didn't mess about and went on to do it all again.
However, what with No. 1 Son's new purchase and working on that, the Bell's Palsy episode which made working with paint very difficult (the lack of blink meant the eye couldn't wash the fumes away), and the sudden occupation of the 'medical centre', I have to say Meadowgate Drive is still being painted but with very slow progress!
Hmmm. Now, if I use the front four offices for reception, meetings, admin and my office, and the rear office and utility areas are shelved for storage, I could get the drop saw, compressor and nail gun from under the stairs and remove my roller, paint and general builders clobber to Meadowgate Drive, and change the signs to 'Meadowgate Mortgages and Harvey Pender Properties' and finally get to do what I like best - talk a lot and paint houses, too!!
Now, where did I put that copy of the local paper? Didn't I see a 'renovator's opportunity' up for sale? Joy oh joy, what a dump! Lovely - just my cup of tea!!
He he he
Kristine
ps
'Building Wealth Story by Story' is just so inspiring - read the story last night about Pat the 73 year old renovator. My mum was still gardening professionally at 78, shimmying up trees and mattocking out tree roots. Perhaps I'll still be sweeping up rats nests and matching colour samples at 78? Yoh! Way to go!!
Well, I've just unpacked all the painting clobber yet again, after one week of frantic redecorating, repairs & maintenance.
My 'medical centre' house, after standing empty for eighteen months, now has someone living in it.
I said to a friend - partly as a joke - 'Well, you can live in the medical centre', and she rang me the next day and said 'I'll take it'. 'What' says I, 'You really need to see it first!'
So we inspected the holes in the walls where the asbestos removal crew had ripped the wall board away, the holes in the ceilings where the possum poo fell through into neat heaps on the floor below, the gap where the stove used to be, the wires hanging from the walls and ceilings, the tiles off the bathroom walls, the cistern which poured into the bowl unless the water was turned off at the meter, the powdery mildew on the walls and ceilings, the wallpaper hanging in artistic curls from the walls, the general dirt and neglect.
'Yep, I'll take it' she said (for $60 per week for a full size two bedroom plus rumpus room house). 'Can I move in on Friday?'
So move in she & children did. In the week inbetween, I have scrubbed all walls, window frames & windows, removed wallpaper to find large areas of the skim coat had gone from the horsehair plaster, repaired, primed and painted the whole kitchen / meals area, repainted ceiling and walls in mildewed bedroom, had the power reconnected, organised the gas and reinstalled the gas stove (the electrician had it in his shed - but that's another story), scrubbed the grease from the kitchen ceiling (all 9' ceilings) and pulled the carpet down through the ventilator holes (carpet had been laid in the roof space to stop draughts) resulting in a possum poo shower, scrubbed and refitted the ventilator grills, had new berber carpet & underlay fitted throughout the house, new cistern, bathroom walls retiled where necessary, all curtains washed, ironed and rehung (many fittings snapped from age and needed replacing), replaced 1970s lightfittings, repaired all holes in walls and ceilings resulting in entrapped possum which then chewed through live wires in wall necessitating in the return of the electrician meanwhile wall boards were unscrewed and boards leant up against wall for rather weak possum to climb down and escape outside (after running around the house, up curtains, lotsa poos etc) (by the way, safety circuits do work - the possum actually ate the live wires and lived to tell the tale), waiting to see if hot water service still worked, pulled all junk mail from long grass at front gate, installed letter box with 'No Junk Mail' sign, swept, packed up, got home, can't wait to do it all again.
The outside still looks like a badly neglected house - eave boards missing, broken architraves, long grass, base boards missing etc but inside it is just lovely!
Mind you, I've spent about 18 months worth of future rent in getting the place ready, but now can finally claim the interest etc on my tax. As a capital asset I could only capitalise interest and expense, as an income producing asset I can bring all outgoings into the taxation pie so although that does not in itself compensate for renting the property at about $120 - $140 per week less that it would fetch if the outside was in better repair, it would probably cost another $5,000 to finish the outside so the expense/income equation just about balances out in the short-term.
What is it about renovating houses which is so enjoyable? Is it the sweat, the dirt, the chapped hands, the broken nails, the crawling about pulling nails from floorboards, the 7am to 10pm days, the satisfaction of standing back and seeing the house come awake, come alive, knowing it was your work, your imagination, which made it happen?
To take a house from 'Oh' to 'Oooh' in a week is just a fantastic feeling. To see someone's face when they walk in the door and they realise how much work has been done 'just for them', is such a buzz.
When I was working on Myrtle Cottage, I went to an auction a few streets away, got chatting with the vendor (didn't realise at the time, think I insulted him over a few things, oh well!). He had bought, renovated and sold 17 houses in the past two to three years. He worked as a floor polisher and the houses were his paying hobby. If he earnt $10,000 clear after all buying, selling and renovation expense per house, he would have earnt a cool $170,000 for his evening and weekend work during that time.
But more than that, he loved doing the work, took pride in the painting and presentation, didn't mess about and went on to do it all again.
However, what with No. 1 Son's new purchase and working on that, the Bell's Palsy episode which made working with paint very difficult (the lack of blink meant the eye couldn't wash the fumes away), and the sudden occupation of the 'medical centre', I have to say Meadowgate Drive is still being painted but with very slow progress!
Hmmm. Now, if I use the front four offices for reception, meetings, admin and my office, and the rear office and utility areas are shelved for storage, I could get the drop saw, compressor and nail gun from under the stairs and remove my roller, paint and general builders clobber to Meadowgate Drive, and change the signs to 'Meadowgate Mortgages and Harvey Pender Properties' and finally get to do what I like best - talk a lot and paint houses, too!!
Now, where did I put that copy of the local paper? Didn't I see a 'renovator's opportunity' up for sale? Joy oh joy, what a dump! Lovely - just my cup of tea!!
He he he
Kristine
ps
'Building Wealth Story by Story' is just so inspiring - read the story last night about Pat the 73 year old renovator. My mum was still gardening professionally at 78, shimmying up trees and mattocking out tree roots. Perhaps I'll still be sweeping up rats nests and matching colour samples at 78? Yoh! Way to go!!
Hi Kristine.
