To Renovate or Not to Renovate

Whether you are thinking about renovating the family home or looking to add value to an investment property, there are several things to consider before bringing out the jack-hammer. Investors who know upfront what their property will look like, and what it will achieve after renovation, are the ones that get the results.

To Renovate or Not to Renovate

Whether you are thinking about renovating the family home or looking to add value to an investment property, there are several things to consider before bringing out the jack-hammer.

Planning To Renovate or Not?

Investors who know upfront what their property will look like, and what it will achieve after renovation, are the ones that get the results.

While renovating is an exciting process and worth considering, it is not a strategy on its own and investors need to spend a majority of their time in the planning phase to get it right.

This is especially true for those tackling a renovation for the first time.

To decide on the best strategy, you should first consider your reasons for undertaking a renovation. What sort of project is it? Are you a home renovator looking to improve your home and align it more with your preferences and lifestyle, or is the renovation for an investment property?

In the second case you should consider things from a ‘need’ point of view: anything you do needs to improve cash flow, ‘rentability’ or the value of the property.

You should ask questions like: Will it increase the rent? Will it increase the value? Am I better off without a renovation?

It needs to be strictly a business decision.
 

Planning and Preparing

Most of the work involved in a renovation actually takes place during the initial phases – the research and the planning before any physical labour gets underway.

How a property needs to look at the end of the project will help define the approach taken. Does your property just need a tiny facelift – such as replacing light fittings, painting walls or installing new door handles – or are you looking for a complete overhaul, including re-doing bathrooms and the kitchen?

These are important aspects to consider as they will affect many aspects of the renovation, including the time and funding required.

Remember, you will need to book in tradespeople so think carefully about the order in which you are scheduling the different stages to ensure the tradespeople come at the right time.

Many of the renovation shows on TV at the moment make it look like a fun and easy process, although this can be very deceptive. Before undertaking any type of renovation, you absolutely have to make these careful preparations.

There will, of course, always be things that pop up unexpectedly, but the more you prepare the more likely it is that you will be able to stick to your timetable and your budget.

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