House wash this can add thousands to the out look of your property. Over the winter months the grime etc has built up on the exterior of the House and a simply wash will take that off.

Firstly if you are going to under take this yourself make sure you give the house a low pressure wash all over just to wet the House. Then you wash the House using a Chemical detergent that is approved for exterior of Houses this will eat into the dirt but not the paint on the House. Then you give it a light wash again which will bring all the dirt off the surface of your house. Make sure you use a low pressure system when washing as it will eat into any paint you have using a high pressure system.

When washing the House make sure you wash from the top down so if you wish to do the roof start there then work your way down the house. My advice to you is that washing the roof can be a very dangerous job and you should leave it to the professionals at the time.Waterblast the decks and the fences and anywhere concrete as well it will make a big difference.

If you waterblast the fence then paint it with a water based paint it wont sink in and you wont have to use much paint. Stainning the Decks can be a mission so use a dark stain as you wont have to use much stain in the end.

For the garden I normally take all the weeds off and put a weed mat down with bark and some simple flowers or plants around it.
We have found that if you go and talk to your local nursery person they are a wealth of knowledge in respect of what are the good plants to use.

Rubbish around the property we now use those skip bags that you can buy from most hardware retailers is the most cost efficient way to dispose of rubbish now days.Unless you have a lot of hard rubbish get those bags stick them in a convient location and fill up.

These simply tips if done well will add thousands onto your done up investment property and will only cost you hundreds in cost.

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For some time and many renovated properties later it has always been my belief that Painting was the best method for property investment. Always when I would renovate a property the first thing I would do was go in and start stripping the wallpaper off.

You would get Hot water with dish washing detergent mix that in with the water spray all over the wallpaper soak that in and then start stripping off with a scraper. You would let that dry then you would sand down to a smooth surface then you would skim with a plaster solution. Let the plaster solution dry then lightly sand and add more compound if needed and get ready to paint. Once the skimming solution had dried and ready for paint you would add the undercoat or primer and add another one if needed. Finally adding the overall coat and I would use Spanish white on nearly all occasions.

Why did I do that? I believed that paint was more durable and could be quite easily fixed if damaged by tenants you could just paint over quite easily. Turn around for getting back onto the rental market would be quite easy and profitable for the landlord.

Wallpaper in my opinion would take you longer to fix and would chew up more of your money in holding costs while you renovated it. This process I repeated many times over and believed that this was the best method for any Property Investor.

How times have changed. I believe now that Wallpaper suits certain methods for Property Investment and Painting suits another strategy no a one suits all. Let me explain I believe wallpaper suits a strategy of if you are renovating to on sell it just makes the property look that much better. Finishing with wallpaper in my belief gives you a better look and would make it more attractive to a first home buyer. Painting I believe is more durable and should be used on a strategy of buy and hold. Repainting is quite easy and can be done many times over before you have to go back to the original process of sanding adding plaster compound and re painting.

The price difference between the two is not that much difference and so negates each other out. So whether you are a fan of paint or wallpaper I suggest look at what strategy you use before you decide what method you will use.

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As a property investor, you can more effectively renovate your bathroom for profit by aiming for an even balance of the following 3 main factors:

• Good Looks
• Practicality of fixtures and surfaces
• Cost

Depending on your property, the emphasis on each of these components will vary. For instance, if you’re renovating a lower value property and planning to rent it out to students or young families, you would give more emphasis to the practicality and less emphasis on good looks and cost. However, if it’s a higher value property that you are selling immediately your renovation is complete, then you might put more emphasis on good looks and cost but less emphasis on practicality.

Good looks: What is a suitable look for your bathroom? Where is the property located and who is your target market? (Note: if you don’t know who your target market is, then talk with a local real estate agent or property manager to establish this before you start your reno). Creating a 5 star bathroom in a 3 star property is a waste of time and money and will result in over-capitalising. On the contrary; if you’re renovating a higher value property, you need to make sure the bathroom ‘fits’ with the rest of the house. Not doing enough to the bathroom – spending less on it than it needs – will do more harm than good and may turn potential buyers or tenants off.

Re-using some of the existing components in your bathroom is a great way to keep your costs at bay. Of course this needs to be appropriate for the property too. If you can re-use some of your components, make sure they are neutral in colour and in style first – do not of course re-use a pink bath or wall tiles with sail boats printed on them. White fixtures are great for this. Figure out which parts of the bathroom you are going to re-use (Bath? Flooring? Shower screens?) and then work your renovation choices around these.

Whether you’re renovating or stripping out your existing bathroom and starting again, go for warm, clean, neutral colours and a style that will appeal to 95% of the population. Shiny surfaces are great but be wary of impractical finishes that will be difficult to keep looking good (eg: polished chrome handles, dark coloured gloss laminates). Also try to steer clear of trends that may date (like how blue and yellow did in the 90’s and pink and grey did in the 80’s). Neutrals may become unpopular one day in the future perhaps, but I’ve never heard of anyone complaining about white and beige bathroom.

A note on using white: You might be tempted (as many people are) to select all white surfaces in your bathroom (ie wall and ceiling paint colour, wall panelling or tiles, flooring and fixtures. My belief is that white is very stark and sterile and totally unoriginal and that if you have the opportunity to choose the colours you use for your bathroom, why not add a bit of depth and interest by introducing one or two other light, neutral monochromatic colours? Always use white fixtures – in fact I don’t think you can even buy coloured fixtures (baths etc…) anymore. Thank goodness for that.

Practicality of fixtures and surfaces: The practicality factor of your renovation is mainly a reflection of who your target market is and there are two questions to ask yourself here.

1. What does your target market find practical in terms of usage?
2. Does the bathroom need to be super-hard wearing or not so much?

What does your target market find practical in terms of usage?

For example, you know that an older person my find it more difficult to get in and out of a low bath, so if your target market are retirees, then you would make sure there was a shower and if there was a bath, it would be raised slightly.

Or, if your target market were young families, then the bathroom would have lots of storage (usually in the vanity), extra towel rails and most definitely a bath. If space were tight, then you might even consider a shower over bath set up.

Professional couples or couples with a grown up family may not need a bath, but place more value on a double vanity, a double shower set-up (depending on the property) and just generally a more spacious bathroom.

You get the idea – think about what the people do and how they live to help you create the ideal bathroom for them. It’s these little things that will elevate your property above the rest. Yes the property needs to look the part (particularly for a valuer) but when it comes to selling or renting, the practicality of the bathroom is almost as important.

Does the bathroom need to be super-hard wearing or not so much?

Think about what you’re ultimately going to do to the property. If you’re holding onto it long term, then hardy surfaces and top quality (though not necessarily expensive) fixtures and finishes are a must. However, if you’re planning to sell then you can reduce your costs by using lesser quality components – still good quality but just keep in mind that it doesn’t need to last you 10 years or more.

For properties you’re planning to hang on to (and especially for properties you’ll rent to young families or students), go for very hard wearing surfaces such as tiles, stones/reconstituted stones and laminates with a 2-3mm thick PVC edge and solid joins. Fixtures (such as toilets, taps, appliances etc…) should also be good quality and preferably come with a good product and installation guarantee.

If selling your property soon, then you can afford to use slightly less sturdy finishes and fixtures. Instead of the more expensive options, go for imported (from Asia etc.) taps, tiles, lighting and other fixtures.

Whether selling or holding your property, ask yourself:

1. Is it easy to maintain?
2. Will it last the length of time I plan to own the property?

Cost: Determine your budget based on the bathrooms’ current condition, its anticipated new ‘look’ and of course your overall renovation budget (for your property as a whole). Spend too little and it can do more harm than good, spend too much and you will over-capitalise. If you have decided to re-use some of the components then as a natural result of that, your costs will be lower. However sometimes this is just not appropriate and stripping the bathroom and starting from scratch the best option.

Depending on the property, look at spending between .5% (low-end properties) and 1.5% (higher value properties) of the pre-reno value and then allocate your money according to how immediately obvious each component is. For instance, if the vanity is the first thing you see when you come through the door, then spend more money on a nice vanity, splash-back and mirror. If the first thing you see is the shower, then spend money getting this looking good. The next most obvious areas might be the floor, then the walls and then the towel rails and this is the order in which you would allocate your bathroom renovation budget.

This is an excellent way to prioritise how you spend your money when renovating – not only in the bathroom, but through the entire property.

Lastly, I recommend you PLAN your bathroom renovation before you start anything. If you know precisely what you are going to do and how much it is going to cost then you are much more likely to achieve that critical balance between cost, practicality and good looks – and get a renovation result that will genuinely make you a profit.

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All landlords should provide window coverings. Gone are the old days when some landlords let tenants provide their own coverings. If you don’t have them installed then tenants will rent elsewhere. We recommend that rental properties should have cost effective, durable, modern coverings that fit each window. The location of your property (and the prospective tenant market – you should know your market) will help determine what sort of blinds/curtains you install, but there are some good guidelines to follow.

We recommend that landlords with properties out West or South (where there is often more wear and tear than in the central city) stay away from venetian blinds made of aluminium slats which although look smart, are damaged easily. The blinds and cords can be damaged as tenants clean them, or careless tenants open the windows without lifting blinds (by reaching between the slats) or the wind can cause damage to the slats. Executive properties and apartments in central Auckland may be better suited to these blinds as the properties are often not subject to the same amount of wear and tear. Vertical fabric venetians have plastic beading that keeps the blinds together and these can break easily, so the same rule applies. The one good thing about all venetians is that they are easily serviced with many companies out there providing a maintenance service. Roll down sun shade blinds are great and have a modern, clean look and are very durable but are often the most expensive choice so exceed many landlords’ budgets.

Curtains and nets seem to be the most preferred covering in most rental properties. Bedrooms require both curtains and nets whereas lounges and dining rooms can often get away with just curtains. Kitchens, toilets and laundry’s can get away with nets only. Nets in wet areas should be trimmed high so they do not hang in the vicinity of taps etc. Nets should be white and you can purchase nets with built-in zipped cuts that allow you to trim the nets to the height of your windows. Nets should be hung on cords on the inside of the window frame but not attached to the glass. Curtains should be hung on rails on the top of the window frames so when closed they hide the nets. If you invest in new curtains make sure that they are hung correctly to maximise presentation and prolong the life of the curtain.

Nets provide additional privacy when curtains are open but also allow a small amount of sunlight to shine through which has obvious benefits to your rental property. More sunlight means less moisture which has a positive effect on tenant’s health and also increases the life of all of your chattels including carpets and paintwork. Curtains should be thermal backed to provide maximum insulation. You can increase the life of your nets/curtains and blinds by tenant education and improving insulation and air flow. For example tenants should be told to regularly open windows and encourage air flow. Property owners with moisture problems can reduce these problems by installing fans and air/heat transfer systems such as HRV (Home Ventilation System) products which circulate air around the home. This will help avoid mould growth and discoloured window coverings.

We suggest that you purchase neutral colours that don’t clash with tenant’s furniture and personalities – for example, don’t choose multi coloured rainbow or pink/orange curtains. White curtains mark easily so contemporary grey/brown colours are always a good option. Presentation can be maximised by having consistency in all rooms and not different colours in every room. If your children’s bedrooms have kiddie cartoon curtains it may be worth replacing with normal curtains to increase your potential tenant market. Your property may then appeal to a wider range of tenants such as professionals or students.

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This is a great start but renovating your investment property wisely is restricting and takes a lot of planning and self control. It’s not just about prettying up your property in the way that you might like it. And in fact this is exactly how you would go about over-capitalising on your renovation.

A smart property investor will make a plan right from the outset that purely focuses on how they will make a profit from their renovation.

If you think about planning your renovation enough in advance, you will even consider it before you decide on a particular property.

Renovating the right property could be the difference between making a profit and not. If you’re planning on a cosmetic renovation, then selecting a property that requires minimal ‘invisible’ work is essential. Invisible renovations include things like re-wiring a house, replacing a roof that you can’t see from the road, installing insulation or repairing general damage to the property. Cosmetic renovations that may or may not include small structural changes (for example building an interior wall to create a new room) have worked extremely well for me and the many many clients I have advised in the past. This is not the only way to renovate (you may choose to add a level or do even more structural work to your property) but it is a quick, low risk, reasonably low cost way to force value onto a property.

Choosing a property that you can perform minimal work on but that dramatically improves its appearance is of course, key. Some properties are just simply too expensive to renovate compared to the return you would earn. For the best returns on a cosmetic renovation, choose a property that is 15-35 years old and out of style/old fashioned (1970’s, 1980’s or 1990’s – and at a stretch 1960’s).

Kitchen – Before	Kitchen – After:

Bathroom – Before	Bathroom – After:

The next step is to work out the feasibility of renovating the property you’ve chosen. The best way to work out your potential profit is by asking real estate agents and scouring the internet to find out what other properties are selling for. Compare your property to others that are a similar style and size (number of bedrooms and land size) – especially those that have recently been renovated. If your property is currently worth $400,000 and other renovated properties are selling for $450,000, then you may not consider there is enough ‘fat’ in the project. However, if there are examples of properties that have sold for $480,000, you might consider this enough of a profit to pay you for your time, investment and risk.

When doing your numbers, an essential thing to know, of course, is how much your renovation is going to cost. The area the property is located in, the type of property it is and what you are planning to do with it (sell, hold short or long term, rent out etc…) will all go to deciding how much you should spend on it. When advising my clients about what exactly to do to their property to improve it most effectively, for the least cost, I typically work to a budget of 5-7% (of the property’s pre-renovation value). Using this strategy, on a property currently worth $400,000 the specifications I give them would be based on spending around $20,000 on the renovation. It’s very easy to spend over this amount, but believe me it is completely possible to stay within your prescribed budget – and avoid over-capitalising – when you have the right plan in place.

Once you know the cost of the property, the cost of the renovation and the probable end value of the property (re-valuation or sale price) then you should be able to make an accurate assessment about whether to go ahead with the deal or not.

I don’t believe that it is vital to know exactly what you are going to do to a property to know what it is going to cost to renovate. In fact, I tend to work in reverse as long as the property has good bones. I usually work out the renovation budget depending on location, property type and size etc… and then allocate my budget from there. Distribute your money around the whole property so that overall it is improved. It’s great to renovate the kitchen and bathroom but if you do nothing to the rest of the house (especially the exterior) then it could be money wasted.

Identify the worst parts of the property (not the areas, but the actual components within each area – such as kitchen bench-top and/or handles and/or splash-back and/or floors etc…). Then renovate just the components that need it. You do not need to use the ‘gut and replace’ method of renovating. You can select just a few key components to change – and done in the right way this will dramatically improve your property for minimal cost.

From the outset, keep a tight record of what you are going to do to the property. Your intention of course will be to stay within a particular cost parameter. However it can get tricky to stay on track once the day-to-day reality of the renovation kicks in. ‘Just’ $50 here and $20 there and another $60 here adds up before you know it. If you do not keep tabs on the variations that will inevitably occur you are likely to run over budget and risk over-capitalising. For this reason record keeping is vital. A simple spreadsheet will suffice – preferably on your computer so you can update it as necessary. Record on it what you are going to do (the exact specifications – product, colour, style name, dimensions etc…), who is going to do it and how much it is going to cost you. You should also keep tabs on when you expect things to be done since time over-runs equal cost over-runs usually. For example if your renovation takes two weeks longer than expected, then you’ll have two weeks of mortgage repayments you hadn’t budgeted on and that could be another $1,000 or more out of your profit.

Most of all, remember that as an investor, your renovation is a numbers game – and if the numbers don’t stack up then put your feet up and save yourself the hassle.

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Work out the feasibility of the project

Before embarking on a renovation project, work out the feasibility of it. If you’re renovating just before you sell (or buying a property to renovate and then ‘flick’) then you will need to start by figuring out your potential sell price.

To get the ball rolling, I recommend looking at a few real estate websites. Have a look to see what other properties similar yours are selling for. Look for properties that are already renovated, are a similar building style to yours, have the same number of bedrooms and sit on a similar size piece of land. You can also talk to local real estate agents and go to open homes to work this out.

Then do a reverse feasibility study on your proposed renovation. This is where you take your potential sale price and subtract your expenses and expected profit in order to work out your renovation budget. Or subtract your renovation costs (if known) and expenses from your potential sale price to work out your expected profit. Note: I usually recommend spending between 5% and 7% of your property’s pre-renovation value on renovating the entire property (less if you can manage it). Let’s look at an example:

So now you have an idea of what profit you’re expecting to make – are you going to go ahead with your renovation? If your expected profit is $10,000 – $20,000, is it really worth the risk?

If you’re happy with the profit you’ve calculated, then the next step is to look at your proposed budget and work out how you are best to spend it.

This of course is the tricky bit. It is a fun process working out the ins and outs of a renovation, but all too often the heart takes over from the head and renovations become an emotional process. Making the property look great is an important factor, but keeping to your budget is even more so. Every dollar you spend over your pre-determined budget is money out of your back pocket and your profit can take a slippery slide downwards from your expectation.

If renovating your property to sell, then you are essentially carrying out a business transaction. Put your business-persons hat on and have it on every time you see or discuss the property until it sells.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to create a great looking property – believe me I have renovated the worst of the worst properties. You just need to spend your money doing just the right things in just the right way. It’s great to get ideas from TV shows and magazines, but make sure if you take on their tips, they are relevant to your property. So often I see people renovating parts of their property that simply don’t need it – because they saw this show or that magazine article of someone else’s property who needed that particular sort of renovation. Or they renovate their property using colours, materials and products that are just not appropriate. Researching all the types of materials and products for your reno is essential. And using the right ones for your property style, area, location and value of your property is what makes the difference between a profitable reno and one you just learnt a lot of lessons from.

The trick is in renovating your property so that it offers value to your purchaser. If your property has what they want at a fair price, then your property will be the one they buy. If you over-spend on your renovation (and need to ask more for the property as a result) or if you renovate it in a way that doesn’t appeal to buyers, then they will end up buying another property down the road – not yours.

What parts of the property will you renovate?

My rule is to first and foremost renovate or ‘trick up’ the exterior of the house including the garden and fences. Why, I wonder, do people spend tens of thousands of dollars on renovating their kitchen and bathroom areas but then do almost nothing to the outside? It’s completely natural for people to judge a book by its cover – in this case judging the house from the road – so why not give them the best first impression you can. When selling a property, you generally have only one chance to impress potential buyers. The interior photos on the advert only do half the job. If a potential buyer turns up to a property that does not reflect on the outside what the photos say is going on inside, then they are very likely to drive on by. Again, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to create a more appealing exterior. Renovating just a few key areas can often totally transform it – so make this a priority if you’re planning on selling the property at some stage.

The next most important areas are the entry (or the first area you see on entry to the house) followed by the kitchen and lounge areas, then the bathrooms and bedrooms.

Again you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg to get a really great result. Spend a bit more on the kitchen and bathrooms (say .75% – 1.5% of the property value for each area) to trick it up whenever possible. Giving an overall cleaner, fresher appearance will create a very appealing property so using clean colours and crisp looking products is essential.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Who is your target market?

The next thing to consider when working out which parts of the property you’ll renovate, is what your target market wants. Who is your target market and what do they place value on?

Look at the area your property is located in and make sure it fits with the needs and wants of the sorts of people who live there (for example, retirees, young families, students, young professionals etc…). If it doesn’t currently suit your target buying market, then do whatever you can within your budget to create that.

For instance, a retired couple will see value in a low care garden that they can nurture and add to. They will probably want a decent amount of storage to keep their life time of treasures in and perhaps a shed for gardening gear and hobbies.

Young families will see real value in (among other things) a fenced off yard for children to play in, so consider creating a secure yard area if that is possible. They’ll also want a bath for bathing the children and perhaps a suitable ‘play’ area near the lounge or kitchen areas.

Young professionals will value low maintenance properties, so at least simplify fussy, high maintenance garden areas. They’ll no doubt want all the mod cons too – so in the kitchen, make sure there is space for a dishwasher and microwave (and probably a coffee machine too!).

Students will value study spaces in their bedrooms and locks on their doors, so buyers of investment properties for student accommodation will look for these types of things. Create a property that is especially user friendly and your buyer will see that downtime during holiday periods will be minimized – tenants will be reluctant to ‘give up’ the property for fear of not finding anything as good when they come back from their break.

So spend a bit of time thinking about who these people are and what they place value on before you begin your renovation. Also do some research on what else is on offer. Again, look on the internet and visit as many open homes as you can in your suburb and those surrounding it to see what your competition is. You may find that there are 10 other properties similar to yours – and this is when you really have to think about what your point of difference is going to be. Why will someone buy your house and not the one down the road? Partially the reason will be price, but like in business, price is lower down the list when it comes to the reasons people buy. If it suits their needs, they are likely to spend more money and buy more quickly.

Do your research first. You should be able to justify absolutely every thing you do and every decision you make during your renovating project. Don’t make it up as you go along and don’t just do something because it will ‘look nice’. Aesthetics are very important, but you must aim for a perfect balance between good looks, practicality, reasonable cost and availability of products.

Keeping to your budget

So you know that your renovation is feasible from a profit-making perspective. You’ve worked out your approximate renovation budget in order to make the profit you want. You know who your target market is – and generally what you’re going to do to your property in order to meet their needs and wants. Now you come to the crunch – the exact details of what you will do to the property in order to meet those criteria (profit, budget, needs and wants of your target market).

The most common question I am asked at this point is – how can I possibly renovate my entire property for under (say) $28,000? The most important thing to know is that it IS possible to renovate your property for such a small amount of money – even if you don’t have all the freebies they get on the TV shows or the ‘behind the scenes’ trades-people carrying out all the work. I have many clients who have renovated entire properties for between $10,000 and $15,000.

It’s a matter of identifying and changing just the components within each area of the property that really need it. Don’t paint the entire house exterior if just painting the trims and tidying the garden will improve it ‘enough’. Don’t replace the entire kitchen if just replacing the bench-top, door handles and splash-back is ‘enough’. And don’t go reconfiguring your bathroom if you can get away with replacing the shower screen, vanity, splashback, toilet and towel rails.

See the idea? Look at the areas in the property and note the best bits. And then leave these as they are. Work around these things when replacing or renovating the other components so that everything ties in together once the renovation is completed.

When selecting the products and materials to renovate or replace the components within your soon-to-be-sold property, you can generally afford to go for a lower quality than if it were a property you were going to live in yourself or hold onto for years to come. You still want a good quality finish but if you have to choose between a $500 toilet and a $150 toilet, you will still get a good enough quality with the latter.

You will get a much better result from your renovation, and a much bigger profit when you sell (or re-value etc…) if you are prepared to do your research and plan your renovation well. Minimise your risk by spending the time up front to plan your renovation based on the facts. Keep your business head on at all times and reap the rewards of your successful renovation.

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