Add value on the cheap: We show you how
There are a number of super-cheap, super-easy items that all investors should consider when it comes to boosting their renovating profit.
With a huge minimum return of $5 for every $1 spent, the item taking the top spot on the list is simply paint.
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“Paint is the number one way, it is something you can do so much with and it’s within the skill level of everybody,” Renovating for Profit’s founder Cherie Barber explains.
“It’s a really profitable renovation value-add. When it comes to paint, it really transforms a home.”
The average DIY paint job costs $3,500 for the internal walls and up to $5,500 when including the exterior.
“Sometimes you can cut the cost down further by only doing one coat of paint rather than two, if the paint is just a bit dull and worn but the colour is fine, and this will still brighten it up,” Urban Sensations renovator and founder Rosalie Griffiths explains.
“Only DIY if you know what you’re doing. Painting is the first impression that you get. If it’s done really badly you’ll never get your money back,” Ms Griffiths says.
But paint doesn’t have to just go on the walls. The external walls, kitchen units and even window frames, doors and cupboards can be painted.
“If you just want the kitchen to look refreshed but don’t want to replace the units, then just painting the cupboard doors and even putting back the old handles, is fine because the fresh coat of paint lifts the whole room,” she says.
Similarly, updating the handles and knobs when required, $3.50 each, and re-surfacing kitchen bench tops, $300 to $600, are quick and easy instant fixes for outdated designs.
Quick visual touches to a property as well as fixing the main eyesores are sure-fire ways to sell.
Camouflaging “turn offs”, including painting dark coloured tiles and sealing cracks, is one way to go about ensuring that the smaller details don’t put off potential buyers.
“I know some areas crack, because of the high level of play, but if you’re buying you don’t want to see cracks everywhere. And neither do valuers, or the banks,” WBP Property Group valuer, Wesley Inkster, explains.
“Just taking away any of those negatives that a purchaser may look at and say “Well, I’ll offer you less because that’s going to cost me” is the aim,” he says.
Must do items:
+ Fresh coat of paint: $3,500
+ “Wow” items: e.g. $60 feature lights
+ New handles: $3.50 each
