To renovate to increase sale price? Or just sell as is, the big debate!

[rookie101]

so we have a PPOR in north lakes qld which is in need of a new kitchen and bathrooms. So the big debate, do we sell as is or invest another 5-6000 and do the kitchen carpets and timber blinds and try and get our house into the next price bracket?
is it worth our time in current market here in north lakes qld or do we just accept that we paid 401 000 July 2011 and we won't get much more than that back for it if we sell now?
Hum what are your thoughts?

 

[lizzie]

Get your local, friendly real estate agent in and ask them ...

 

[rookie101]

If anyone has any insights let me know, I've asked an agent but they say they need stock ATM so I'm worried I'm getting a bias opinion

 

[JWR]

It depends the current condition of the property.

95% of the time you will make more than you put in but not if you waste money/time etc...

Put some photos up and everyone can give an opinion.

 

[rookie101]

Great idea I'll try now

 

[rookie101]

Buggar can't upload off an iPhone!

 

[pennyk]

I think the challenge of the market at the moment is that you wont necessarily increase the sale price...... but you might decrease the time it takes to sell.

Dont know much about the North Lakes area, but in general at the moment, the housing market is flat, and there are plenty of choices for buyers. So, they will tend to buy something which is already renovated and where they dont have to invest additional money into the property.
Our experience was that the buyers werent even really interested in a lower price for the unrenovated property..... they just saw too much work and moved on, because there are plenty of options for them to move onto.

 

[Propertunity]

.....is it worth our time in current market here in north lakes qld or do we just accept that we paid 401 000 July 2011 and we won't get much more than that back for it if we sell now?

According to APM, median prices fell backward by 4% in the last 12 months in North Lakes. If you purchased less than 12 months ago for $401,000 and $401,000 was the true market value, then you'd expect to walk away with a loss (moreso if you account for the SD going in & sales comms getting out).

Doing a reno might be throwing good money after bad. But as others have said - as a few local REAs.

 

[rookie101]

What do you mean by throwing good money after bad? H
Haha don't quite understand what you mean there? So making good money on a bad price without the Reno, or just wait and hold onto the house untill property cye heads upwards again?

 

[rookie101]

Also we bought the house is a crap state, so far it's been fully painted, window furnishings and bathroom tapware, handrails etc have been replaced

 

[laurieload]

Got to say, just saw a house that had an obviously quick and dodgy kitchen renovation. It was all new but looked terrible, very bland with splash back tiles uneven and non aligned cupboards etc. Think in this case the owner would have been better to leave the old kitchen as it was and let people use their imagination. But just my 2c worth..

 

[lizzie]

Okay - hop onto onthehouse.com.au and have a look at what's been sold in the area for what price ... if you don't have an "in the pocket" real estate agent, then this is really your best way of finding out if it's worthwhile.

Hopefully you've been nosey (like most property investors) so you have an idea of what's been reno'd and what hasn't.

The PPOR we just sold, we had our friendly RE agent come thru and he advised that we would only get back what we spent (quality reno and partial rebuild) and would also put the house up into the next price bracket - and therefore reduce the pool of buyers.

Will your house be worth more? No one on here will have any idea without having more information - like location, current condition, what has recently sold in what condition etc etc

 

[rookie101]

Thanks so much, alot to think about indeed! I really like ur input Lizzie, your right we need to consider the market were appealing to! the next bracket is $430-$440000 and the main problem here is people are building rather than buying established homes. The oldest homes in here are only 12 yrs old or so, and ours is 12 yrs. If people wanted a brand new renovated home they would build hey?

 

[Ocean Architect]

If anyone has any insights let me know, I've asked an agent but they say they need stock ATM so I'm worried I'm getting a bias opinion

Allow me to translate:

RE Agent says: "We need stock ATM"

Naive seller hears: "If they need stock, the market must be good and we can get lots of money!"

What RE Agent is really saying: "We need stock because we make money through advertising from the seller anyway, plus if we sell, no matter what the price is, we get a commission of thousands of dollars"

What a savvy seller hears: "Yeah. You want to use my property as 'stock' to bleed me money slowly no matter what happens at no risk to yourself while I finance your advertising profits, then if you happen to sell at the price I want or wear me down to accepting a lower price, you slug me a huge commission for making a transaction".

Bunch of parasites.

 

[VYBerlinaV8]

It's definitely possible to renovate for profit (I've done it myself) but you need to be damn careful.

Go and have a look at some properties for sale similar to yours but at a higher price point, and look at things like kitchens, bathrooms, floor coverings and paint colours.

Try to find out if these properties are actually selling.

If you choose to renovate, set budgets and try to target reno's to the areas that bring value (kitchen/bathroom, floor coverings, etc). The aim is to spend as little as possible to get a good job done with modern colours and fittings that are only a level or so above basic.

Don't fall for builders saying "it's better to do it all now". Maybe it is, but if you are renovating for profit you will soon over spend. Tell the builder your plan, and try to get them on board. Ask for cheaper prices for things, especially labour. Offer to pay cash, but get a receipt.

 

[rookie101]

Just got a quote off a mate to re do and restructure the whole thing- 5-7k, is this a good deal?