Deciding On The Type Of Renovation That Is Right For You

Hey everyone! I’m back again with another round of rapid renovation tips to share. 

So, you’ve worked out what your patch is. You’ve look at the variables to find your personal strategy (if you’ve just tuned in and not sure what I’m talking about, have a look at a couple of the previous posts I did). And you’ve found the perfect place. You’re ready to renovate! 

Or are you? 

Do you know what the different types of renovation there are? 

Can I hear you saying, “Wait, there’s more than one?”. 

Yep, there sure is. And I’m here today to take you through them so you can work out what sort of stuff you’re going to do to make sure your renovation project gives you bang for your buck. 

So, to start off with, there are a few types of renovation. And the ones you choose to do will rely partially on how much budget you have set aside for the project.  

If your total budget is $50,000, it’s probably not a good idea to throw down $40,000 of it on a schmick designer kitchen housing the latest gadgets. You’ll be left scrambling for cash and end up having to try to finish off the paint job on your own – and as I’ve mentioned before, this will mean one of two things: 

One: you’ll end up with a not so crash hot paint job;  

Two: it will take way longer than scheduled and you’ll lose money having to pay off extra interest on the property.  

Either way, not a great position to be in. 

Luckily for you, I’ve already given you the tips and tricks to make sure that this doesn’t happen.  

Budget side of things aside, I’ll move on to the actual types of renovation. 

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The airbrush 

The first type of renovation is generally on the lower end of the risk scale. It’s kind of like seeing a celebrity who goes from looking like your average Joe, and then a makeup up artist comes along, works on them for an hour, and bam! It’s all flawless skin and sexy cat-eye. And then, of course, there’s a little Botox and wrinkle filler here and there to give them a little more oomph. 

Just like that makeup artist, or the cosmetic surgeon, what you’re doing to the property in this type of Reno is giving it a gentle facelift. It’s nothing drastic like knocking down walls or ripping out plumbing, it’s the stuff on the outside that people are most likely to see.  

When you walk into a room and you see peeling, green 70’s paint and rusty sinks, what do you think? Probably something like “dirty”, or “old”, or simply “I’m glad I don’t live here”.  

But repaint the walls and replace the taps and you’d barely recognise the place. And the best part? You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg doing it all.  

I know I’m always saying that it’s best to have a professional do the professional work, but in this case, some of the stuff CAN be done by you – as long as it doesn’t set you back in your renovation timeline, of course. 

These kinds of renos are usually budget friendly, but can add some serious value to your property. Usually not as much as the next type of renovation, but then again, there’s a lot less at stake with this one. 

The nose job 

Ah, many a celebs have been caught out with a rhinoplasty “for health reasons”. But it’s ok. When it comes to renovating, you WANT people to know that your property has had some major upgrading done to it. New kitchen? Shout it from the rooftop, just be safe about it. 

This second type of renovation is a lot more in depth than the first. The first one was all about the little touch-ups, the low risk stuff.  

This one is about dealing with the bigger things. Have tree roots made their way into the drainage pipes? Do the windows need replacing? Is it time to rip up the tiling in the bathroom or change the layout? 

Because this type of reno is a lot more advanced, it’s important not to skimp on the professional help. You might be able to chop off a couple of those tree roots, but do you know how far into the piping they’ve managed to grow? Or how many of these pipes need replacing? 

Beyond just the complexity of the job and the delay if you try to do it yourself, in most cases it can be illegal to try to DIY. Because this type of renovation is all about the structure of the building, if you get it wrong it can get pretty sketchy in terms of safety. 

As you can guess, structural renos can involve… structure. Things like walls, floors, plumbing, electrical and supporting pillars all fall under this type. Structural projects will also cost a lot more than simple cosmetic ones, which is something you always have to keep in mind before smashing down walls. 

Converting a house to open-plan living can be a great money-maker, but it can also leave you dried up financially if you haven’t planned for it from the beginning.  

Also, these renos can also take longer than the first one and require more legal stuff before you can go ahead with it. Things like council approvals and what not. But this also means that, when done right, it can give you a much higher return on your investment.  

So that’s really the two main types of renovations. They should be pretty straightforward to remember. 

Also, keep in mind that before you actually hone in on a particular property, you don’t have to have every detail of what you’re going to do in terms of renovating. You just have to be aware of your budget and whether the property you have your eye on will benefit from what you’re imagining – but more importantly, whether the upgrades you’re imagining will give you a kick-ass return on investment.  

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