To do the back deck or not?

bronwynt

bronwynt

Hi there,

I am currently away in the country doing my little 7-10 day reno.
It's going great and have come back to Melbourne to the luxuries of my own house and a warm shower for a night. :D Having no bathroom up there as we are putting one in is a pain, I hope I can stand the next 4 days without a shower. :eek:
Getting to the topic, we are spending as little as possible to do up the IP to get as much rent as possible and hubby and I are at differences. He thinks we should put a little deck out the back with a cost of around $700 in materials and I think we should leave it and put the money towards a cheap car port shortly down the track as there is no car accomodation only lots of grass.
What do you think would bring in more rent, a little deck or carport?
I will show you pictures and all the other details of how I got on when I get back.

Bronwyn.
 
to deck or not

My thoughts would be to go for a carport.

Most people would like to keep their car under cover if possible.

Take a look at any real estate listing - one of the main things they normally list in the heading along with the number of bedrooms and bathrooms is the number of parking places.

That says to me that it is something that people look for when buying or renting.
 
I don't know how much a carport would cost, but if you can stretch the budget a bit, I'd go the deck for $700 as well as the carport.

Wylie
 
G'day Bronwynt,

I'm with Darren - a carport is extra rent. Re the deck, for $700, would that include a cover? Or just a deck? To my mind, if it's not covered, don't spend money on it - or spend more to cover it. Might make it easier to rent, but a rental increase? Hmm - nope, still prefer a carport.

With just a deck, people go inside when it hails - but what happens to the car?

Regards,
 
I'd also go for a carport- especially if the area has frosts. People can be turned off by having to scrape ice off cars.

Though a deck for only $700- I'm sure it would add a lot more value than what it costs. Wylie has a good point.
 
Hi all,

I have just added up the budget so far and we are a lot under, so I think the carport at a later date and for now the deck. I also agree it needs a cover and can be done easily enough. It may not bring in any extra rent, but we would also like to see as much equity as well to continue with more country renos if this one goes well.
The bloody council approval for the carport is the problem, otherwise we could have whipped one up quickly in the next couple of days.
Thanks for you advice,

Bronwyn.
 
G'day Bronwynt,
Bronwynt said:
The bloody council approval for the carport is the problem
Click to expand...
Sorry - it was a bit of a cheeky response from me. But, where I live (and invest) both a deck and a carport need Council approval. I wondered why you had turned away from a carport, and it seemed "you need approval for that" - but not for a deck?

Anyway, different States have different rules - so I'll leave it with you,

Regards,
 
We are paying the council a visit tomorrow and are thinking we may not need approval for a 2m x 4 metre deck, but if this is not the case that is fine as we are now looking at putting in the carport and deck covering which would definately need approval so therefor would have to wait until it came through.
It would have worked out better if we'd have thought about all this weeks ago, but I guess it wasn't looked at until now when we realised how much we had already gotten through with the work inside.

Bronwyn
 
bronwynt said:
We are paying the council a visit tomorrow and are thinking we may not need approval for a 2m x 4 metre deck,
Click to expand...
Just something to think about, but 2 x 4m isn't really large enough to put an average size table and chairs. From a drafty point of view, I normally quote a minimum distance of 3m for a back deck.

Is it really worth spending your money on something that may not be used for entertaining.

My 5c...
 
If you have the time I would do both. Using borrowed funds to finance $1400 worth of improvements would give you these advantages:
1 Only cost $112 per yr @ 8%, or $2.20 per week
2 You can increase rent by ?
3 Have lower vacancy rates
4 Increase your valuation on the property to access more equity.

I always look at the cost of the funds, not the actual figure of the funds that you need to spend. Sometimes like this scenario you actually realise that you are creating wealth both with cashflow and growth in asset value.
Regards Bushy

PS. When you get really desperate for a shower go to the nearest caravan park and let them know you're showerless and slip them a couple of bucks or a box of chocolates/ nuts ( the ones they can't buy locally ,Haig, Charlesworth etc) they will love you for it and remember you next time.
 
Hi,
I'm back in Melbourne for another day and night of luxury, before heading back for a few more days to finish and get agents in.
The shower and tiling have all been done and I will be a happier person this week.
To let you know how I got on with the deck/carport.
Monday morning I spoke to the council and apparently I don't need a permit for a small deck, but will need one for a carport and covering over the deck.
After looking into it and asking agents and other investors around town it has been clear that a carport is definately the way to go. Initially we were thinking of a little flat roofed 1 car carport, but the back yard is so big I think for a bit extra it would be better to have a two car carport.
The same with the deck, the back of the yard and house is looking very bare and needs something and so we will put in a deck and covering and will go a bit bigger than first estimated.
We have already seen a draftsman and plans are being drawn up and submitted and should be approved in a few weeks. The carport will go up straight away but we may hold off a bit before putting in the deck.
We are looking at spending more on the reno than first planned, and will only get a bit more in rent for doing this, but it will add a lot of equity to the property and we want to have a certain standard of tenant who will love living there and hopefully stay for a long time. Win/win.:D
I will show you photos when I finally finish.

Bronwyn.
 
Sounds a good idea. And I certainly agree about attracting a better quality tenant.

We found the same thing as we slowly changed our sow's ear of a house into a silk purse. Each time (between tenants) we did something to improve it, the quality of prospective tenants got better, until one day the female half of one couple coming through an open house we had looked at me like I had just crawled from under a cupboard, until she realised I was the OWNER.

I try to get out of my painting gear nowadays before showing prospective tenants through :D

Wylie
 
Hi Wylie,

I try to get out of my painting clothes before having to deal with people more these days too.
Two years ago I went into my bank to withdraw a deposit for my PPOR in my painting clothes, it had been raining and I was drenched with no makeup, hair everywhere and looked like I was about 16 years old. The bank staff had many whispering dicussions behind the desk before reluctantly handing me my cheque and I went out chuckling to myself.

Bronwyn.
 
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