Grant Wood is a man who likes to take risks – in fact for kicks, he likes to ride a motorbike at 270kms per hour. It seems this theme also follows through when tackling a renovation. You see despite having never renovated before, Grant has gambled his family’s wealth (and his relationship) on turning a derelict house into a $100,000 profit. Just six months ago Grant, his wife Michelle and their two boys lived happily in a beautiful renovated Californian bungalow when recently retrenched Grant decided that he needed a challenge of the renovation kind. So, they put their house on the market with the hope of finding a ‘renovators delight’. Just days after their house sold at auction, a derelict house directly across the road came up for sale. With rain falling through the roof as the auctioneer’s hammer fell the Grant’s paid $860,000 for the house. The house has not been lived in for 4 years and every single room, except the bathroom needs work. But Grant is hoping that a renovation will make it worth around one million dollars. Grant readily admits that he is in way over his head, but for Grant, this is more than just a job with bricks and mortar, gyprock and paint, this is a personal challenge. And what a challenge it is. Grant is hoping to renovate every room in the house – kitchen, bathrooms, living rooms and the deck outside in just two months and for $40,000. However when Estate Agent John McGrath visited the house, John was a little worried that Grant was way off with his estimations. In fact, John’s assumption was that to complete the works to be carried out – it was closer to six months and $250,000k. It means that Grant’s plans for a quick job and a quick profit may not be possible. As this renovation story unfolds time will tell, who was right.
It’s easy when you buy a new house to get caught up in the emotion and the excitement of the moment, and sometimes when you think you’ve got a small problem you’ve actually got quite an expensive one. So when professional couple Craig and Leigh Goldberg bought their first house, they knew that their back yard needed attention but they just didn’t know how much. You see, Craig had no idea that what seemed like a couple of posts that needed straightening would involve landscapers, engineer certificates and neighbourly negotiations. With a budget of just $40,000, Craig was hoping to paint the inside of the house, redesign and refurbish the backyard, as well as render some of the red brick and install a hi-tech security system. With this in mind, builder Luke Van Dyck was concerned that he was going to be well short “I would have said that the retaining walls would be at least $25, not including the backyard renovation” and the timeline? “well seeing as though they are planning to get this done over the Christmas New Year period, where tradesmen take a break - I think they have Buckley’s.” John McGrath believes however that the Goldberg’s have bought into a great area… “Bondi is probably the hottest suburb in Australia at the moment and so I think they have done well to buy here” however like Luke, John is concerned about getting the job done by the time Leigh’s birthday comes around. “the timeline for me is a little light – they could do it but I think it is unrealistic” Being first time renovators, Craig and Leigh have little experience when it comes to choosing a paint colour scheme, and so have called in a colour consultant from Inspirations Paints to give them some advice. In the end, Leigh’s birthday comes and goes before the renovation has even begun, but 2 months later and nearly all is complete, including a spectacular new back garden and freshly painted house. So they may have blown the timeline – but what about the
Ask anyone who has done it, and they will tell you that undertaking a renovation is one of the most stressful things a couple can do. But when you have a small family, are working a highly stressful job full time as well as studying…well, that makes it dam near impossible. In this week’s episode, Lynda Ross and her Husband Alex are planning to update their suburban Californian bungalow by installing bifold doors, putting in a new kitchen, landscaping the yard as well as installing a top shelf bathroom. Basically, they’re ripping off the back of the house and rebuilding it. As Luke Van Dyck explains “it really is the great Australian renovation, taking a classically designed home built around the 30’s and 40’s and opening it up to be more in keeping with the Australian way of life..” But having undertaken many renovations of this type Luke knows only too well, the costly can of worms that these types of houses can become when you start to peel away the veneer, and so is a little concerned about the Ross’s budget. “I know that when you start to peel back the edges on these type of renovations…you can uncover a lot of problems that you hadn’t expected…old pipes, and electrical, damp issues etc…so you need to be prepared and have a bit of contingency - and be ready to spend it. John McGrath, from McGrath Estate agents however believes that these types of homes do present excellent renovation return potential, but that the Ross’s will need to watch that they don’t overcapitalize on the value of the house. “I feel very positive about this renovation…but they will have to watch their pennies…because at the end of the day, this couple are still on a main road and they still have some light commercial next door” With two little girls to consider, the first major job Lynda wanted undertaken was the removal of the Asbestos; a common problem that needs to be dealt with in houses of this nature. Once the professionals had stripped all
Young family Dan and Sian Campbell are chasing the great Australian dream….their own home with room for family and they are prepared to make some big personal sacrifices to do so. In order to fulfill the dream, they have made the decision to change their lifestyle and move to away from the city, their work, their family and friends. For the same amount of money as they would have spent on a two bedroom apartment in a city suburb, they have bought a three bedroom home with a lovely sea view. But the view comes with a two-hour commute to and from the city for work. The house is in need of a lot of work and novice renovator Daniel has decided that he can transform it into their perfect home. Seems like a good plan but Dan soon realizes that working full-time and renovating full-time is a hard balancing act. Dan is using the internet and some help from his very handy Granddad to get the job done including new wooden floors, new kitchen, new bathroom, new deck and decoration throughout the rest of the house. He hopes to only spend around $30,000-40,000. According to estate agent John McGrath, the Campbells have made a great buy and could stand to make a good return on their renovation investment, as long as they keep their budget in check. Follow Dan and Sian as they struggle with the long hours and the long commute as they attempt to turn their dream into reality.
Andrew Cannone has stretched his families’ finances to the limit in a bold property renovation and sales strategy that he hopes will provide him big returns. The Cannones have invested in an amazing block of land with incredible ocean views and potential. There is an old beach shack style property on the block and the land has already been subdivided for further development. In the short-term they will renovate the old shack and make it comfortable for their family. Then they will build a brand new home on the second block and rent out the old shack. Eventually they wish to knock the old shack down build the house of their dreams over looking the ocean. The long-term plan is complicated but if it pays off they stand to make a great deal of money. But before they can do anything the Cannones must first sell the home they own now and go through a nail-biting auction to secure the funds they need to keep this big project alive. John McGrath is excited about the long-term prospects of this kind of development and he also loves the idea of keeping the style and feel of the old shack. But Luke Van Dyck has a different view. He advises Andrew to knock down the shack and start again, stating that it would be better to build a simple house from scratch rather than try and bring the current home up to scratch. Under a huge amount of financial pressure already the Cannone’s can’t afford to make a mistake with their budget of $50,000. With plans for a new kitchen, new deck and decoration inside and out, it’s a balancing act to make the house comfortable and keep the bills paid.
Claire Hampshire and Drew Chilcott are not planning an average renovation, but then again Claire and Drew are not at all average. Their look and their lifestyle is based around the 1940s and 50s US Westcoast era. So when it comes to taste these two have a very specific idea of what they want and applying it to their 3 level terrace in inner city Sydney. Claire and Drew bought the home with two bedrooms, 3 balconies and a huge downstairs garage come commercial space for $670,000 and although they are keen to make the renovations uniquely theirs they still has his eyes on the main prize. “We want make the place different, but we don’t want to spend money on things that won’t add value.” They are hoping to spend about $15,000-$20,000 renovating a large proportion of the house and are banking quite literally on Drew’s handy man ability. When Real Estate expert John McGrath visited the property he was already excited before he took a look inside. “These inner city areas are the next boom areas of Sydney and these guys bought this property for a really good price.” Inside the house John could see the potential for the unique spaces and balconies. “This is a perfect home for a professional couple and any renovations should keep that in mind.” Builder Luke Van Dyck knows a newer building like Drew and Claire’s 8-year-old terrace needs very little repair or maintenance. “There is no need to worry about finding old wiring and plumbing and structural damage. It’s simply a blank canvas ready for Drew and Claire to style.” Its mostly cosmetic work but it will make this house as unique as Drew and Claire themselves. “We know what we like and we will have it.” And that is exactly what they do, starting with a new kitchen. They also plan to maximize the indoor outdoor effect of the three balconies with bi-fold doors and new window frames. But their plans quickly come unstuck when they realise the expense of the new doors and windows is much more th
Its an ambitious project a five bedroom 3 bathroom home on the slopes of one Australia’s most exclusive suburbs. But mother of two and business-woman, Ali Mitchell, is no stranger to the challenge of renovating and running a family at the same time. “I have renovated before but this is the first time I will live in the house and renovate at the same time. I am confident that I can keep to the budget and schedule.” But for this Mum with a designer eye, her latest challenge has come with a huge price tag having paid 2.6million dollars for an established on home on the slopes of Balmoral, one of Australia’s most exclusive suburbs. With millions of dollars already invested Ali plans to make every part of the renovation add value to the home too. “Its very important that every piece of work is carefully planned and the money is spent in the areas that make the biggest difference.” Property expert John McGrath is impressed by the location of the house and knows that properties in the area can be sold for huge amounts. “It’s got great potential because they bought it for about 2.6 million dollars. I would think it’d be close to 3 million dollars today untouched.” And once John gets an idea of Ali’s plans he is even more confident she is on the right track. Builder Luke Van Dyck is also confident that Ali has set the right budget and timeline and when he looks around the house he can see this is first time the house will be renovated. “Probably around about 3 times this place has had a renovation so she will probably encounter some weird and wonderful things through the different periods and different styles of building.” Ali plans to do a huge amount of work to the house over the next 8 months but her immediate renovation plans involve structural changes to the front living area, new floorboards and redesign and decoration of the upstairs bathrooms. All for a budget of around $120,000 and with a 10 week schedule. It seems that past experi
One of the appeals of a house, like this, is the original features, but it can be a difficult decision to know what to preserve and maintain and what to modernize. Dianne Huegil and her family are standing that very crossroad. Dianne, who also lives in the house, and her two brothers share responsibility of keeping the property up to scratch for their elderly mum who owns the property. Inside and outside the house screams Victorian terrace and while there are so many beautiful period features, there are also many areas that are suffering from old age. “I would like to freshen up the kitchen and Mum would like the downstairs bathroom done. My brother David thinks we should invest some money in the backyard too.” There’s lots to do, but Dianne and the family have so many factors to consider in this renovation. They have to agree as a family on what work needs to be done and the budget, they don’t want to overcapitilise, and above all they don’t want to cause too much disruption and confusion for Mum Eileen. Dianne has taken the sensible approach of getting some advice before finalizing the plans. And that makes the opinions of our experts all the more important. First to give his thoughts is real estate expert John McGrath. With 12 foot pressed metal ceilings, beautiful moulded cornices and architraves John advises Dianne to work to the strengths of the property. “I am relieved they have preserved so many original features in this 100 year old house. People will pay top dollar for that.” While there are other parts of the home that need serious structural and design work, John wants Dianne and her family to leave those works for the next buyer and focus on simple but effective updates to add value, like new floors. Dianne’s next piece of expert advice comes from builder Luke Van Dyke and although he too thinks the floors are a great investment. But he has word of warning. “It can be really costly so you really need to work out what is going to fi
Inner city living – its fast, furious, and certainly not for the faint hearted and for those who choose this life, more often than not they have had to sacrifice the size of their home for the excitement of living amongst it. So when Anindha Parthy was looking to buy and then renovate his first apartment…the tiny inner city space he found presented some very interesting design challenges. And after forking out 350 thousand dollars for this tiny studio apartment Anindha is determined to put his signature on the interior style. Real Estate expert John McGrath has made his fortune buying and selling property and he can see what attracts someone like Anindha to this area. “So even though we are only about 50m off the main road, once you get into the street its quite a charming little location and the building is better the closer you get. It was an 1800s teahouse from many years ago and its been restored in and out to residential accommodation so some people will call it grungy, I think its got a lot of integrity about it. “ With just 48 square metres Anindha has to plan just as carefully as if he has 480 sq metres, But the good news is that John believes that a lot can be done here for not much outlay. Anindha has some grand plans about dividing the room to create a bedroom, but John is concerned that may affect the room’s general character. John also feels its important that Anindha gets some professional advice to curb any potential problems. Our resident building expert and renovation guru Luke Van Dyke also has some great advice for our budding high rise renovator. “You can save some money by using some of the existing kitchen rather than replacing the entire thing.” Anindha has decided he would like to remodel the kitchen, give seperation to the bedroom area, redo the bathroom and paint and decorate the main space. He has a budget of $30000 and would like to get the work completed as soon as possible. But it seems like this small space may be a
In Episode 10 Australian Renovations began the story of our biggest renovation yet courtesy of the Doughty family who fell in love with their house in 1997 because of the 1300sqm of land it sat upon. Like most family homes, over the last 13 years, this house has seen its fair share of action. The fact that John and Kathy are lucky to be mortgage free means that they can afford to do this renovation right. But when it comes to the specifics of how much it will cost, that’s a bit open according to John Doughty. “Look there is no budget!” Surprisingly, despite the loose financial approach, it wasn’t just the budget that concerned property expert John McGrath. He was more worried about the length of the project. There is little doubt this house is overdue for some TLC, but John McGrath is concerned these first timers may have bitten off more than they can chew. “One of the interesting things is they’re actually intending to live in the house right through the renovations and I’m not so sure, I don’t think they’ve done a big renovation before, I’m not so sure they know what a difficult issues that’s going to become for them and their family.” Builder Luke Van Dyck is a renovation specialist and so was keen to hear John’s Plan for managing the project…and he didn’t like what he heard. “Mate you’re, you’re scaring me, just stop, just stop, you’re scaring me.” John and Kathy are planning a major renovation of their existing farm style house by knocking off the back end of the property and building a new kitchen, living room, laundry, upstairs loft and kids room. They also plan to add a new wrap around deck on every side of the house. They are hoping to complete the works in about 6 months and anticipate it will cost them around $250,000. John Doughty has taken on the role of owner builder, but being a novice when it comes to the skills of house building, means he has become the designated demolition man as well the laborer for hi