In 2011, we decided that it was time to sell our investment property in Rowville Vic and put that money into our own property to enhance it for our family. I flew to Melbourne after the tenants moved out, excited to see what the place looked like again. And apart from an overgrown garden, it pretty much looked the same as I left it in 2000, which in fact was the same as when I bought it in 1997, and it was already tired looking back then.
I had just enough money to get it ready for sale. It needed a full paint job inside, repairs to a few timber and guttering areas outside and the floors needed to be sanded and polished. The garden needed some tidy up, a tree removed and some mulch. If I had enough money to update the bathroom and kitchen it would have been an amazing transformation. But I didn’t have the money, nor did I have any experience in kitchen and bathroom renovations so it would have been a risk to try and pursue those things when I was getting ready to sell. Who knows what would have been uncovered there and I certainly didn’t have the knowledge to deal with it. Nor did I want to be flying down there for every issue or decision that needed my attention.
My project management skills had grown over my career so I used them to make a solid plan. One trip was spent working on a few repairs and patching on the outside and I enlisted the help of a number of trades to get the work finished when I left. I also met with the agent and signed him up as he agreed to allow secure access for all the tradies. I flew back to Sydney with a solid work plan and confident of getting the work completed.
Aside from a 1 week delay in the replacing the only piece of carpet in the house, eight weeks later, we were ready for styling. The stylist completed her work in 2 hrs. The agent took a few photos and sent them to me. I was underwhelmed and called the stylist to get her work redone. I didn’t come all this way to then fall down at the finish line. She agreed to make the updates I required and with the photography taken the next day, we were on the market.
After just one open home, the agent received 3 offers. I took the highest and Rowville was SOLD pending settlement in 8 weeks.
The lesson for me over 10 years ago was if I had experience in kitchen and bathroom renovation, along with the money to do it, I would have achieved an even better sale price. A lost opportunity there, with nobody to guide me though I had to put that to one side and move on.
Since then, I've researched, planned and project managed renovations to learn as much as I can and help others out.
If you would like to avoid this same mistake or discuss the right path to prepare your property for a premium sale price, get in contact.
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