This is not our first Renovation Rodeo…

We have worked on a few different projects in our time, some smaller and some larger building renovations that took up the majority of our time.

Mike and I both enjoy the renovation game and although we don’t have the time or money to do it full time, we certainly put a lot of time and effect into each and every build.

In the past we have been lucky enough to build a granny flat from scratch, and repair and build many smaller cosmetics renovations from painting to laundry redo’s, plaster, and floor repairs to landscaping as needed.

All in all, no matter what project we take on were always out to learn how to do things quicker, smarter, on budget and definitely with as much hands on as possible.

No matter how many projects we have completed the one that holds dear to our hearts and memories is building the granny flat, it was a labour of love, learning, practice and patients.

The rain seemed to start from the moment we started our foundations and memories of digging the plumbing trenches in thick sticky mud still make us laugh today, we were so eager to begin we didn’t mind the weather or being covered in mud from our gumboots to our eye balls.

Owner builder is certainly an unforgettable experience, one in which you rely heavily on family and friends to help with the heavy lifting and also to assist in saving a dollar or two along the way…

Trust me every cent is needed and quickly adds up. At times we would not only need man/superwomen power but also the borrowing of tools and equipment became a great way to save the extra dough, you can’t have every tool, no matter how much Mike wishes he could.

But honestly if you see our tool catalogue now you would be proud of our collection, however it has taken years to gather and outsource, which in the long run certainly saves us a lot of money.

We haven’t purchased all our tools from new, we search online listings such as Gumtree, ebay and facebook market place.

In fact Mike is working on repairing our brand new yet second hand concrete mixer. Which he found and purchased online for only $50.

This little gem will come in handy for our most recent renovation project where were have a lot of landscaping and floor repairs to complete.

Speaking of our newest project

This little diamond in the rough took us over three months to find, with our weekends spent trailing through real estate adds, lots of drive byes, house inspections, drawing up plans, budget checking, offers, excel spread sheets and area/location feasibility.  

A lot of work goes into selecting the right project and we do not take it lightly, why should we though, it is a lot of money and furthermore you need enough backup funds to cover any unforeseen costs that come up along the way.

However, we do try our absolute best to estimate what these costs will be before we place an offer on any house.

To be honest I am sure we placed offers on at least 6 separate properties before one was accepted. The housing market in our area is still going strong, even with COVID-19.

Properties selling under $500 thousand mark (my budget) were far and wide between, so you had to not only draw up your numbers but also work quickly.

We ended up offering more than the listing price on one (but still within budget) following a comprehensive review of the area, which included, house prices within the street, suburb, and surrounding areas. As this house looked to be in a bad way, to the many first home buyers, we knew we were in for a chance and we also knew we could turn it into something beautiful.  

When all the stars align

What can I say, this house was just meant to be…

You hear people say all the time about being in the right place at the right time and Yes that is what happened to us. We managed to see the home a day before the weekend inspection, meaning that there was only a small group of potential buyers and before the onslaught of first home buyers on the weekend.

As we approached, we noticed all the rubbish, household goods and other who knows what items within the top-level car port. You could see people sticking up their noses at the sight but to us, this was just items that could be removed and apart of the contact of sale.

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We walked down the concrete stairs and met the agent who asked us to sign a waiver for condition of entre. You see the front stairs leading to the front door landing was practically falling apart and were unsafe, furthermore, there was no rail to rear of the house courtyard and the home was filled to the brink of household items, trip hazards and second floor sliding door that lead to a second floor drop straight to the ground if opened.

A mess… Walking through and taking photos was difficult to say the least (think hoarders tv show) getting the layout was tough, there were items blocking doors, mould, and finally a stair case that lead to the second level.

The owners were inside which made it awkward to take photos and the property showcased several pulled-out walls which were not repaired.

The dishwasher was placed in the middle of the kitchen area to which looked to be leaking through to the ground floor level. All together there was three bedrooms upstairs, a lounge, kitchen, bathroom, and separate toilet.

The upstairs laundry had been taken out at some stage to accommodate the stairs to the ground level, an unfinished ground level which seems to have been started back in the 80s and needed a complete gut job and redo, however this ground level was the exact size of its upstairs counterpart making us see the potential for what it could be, with much effect mind you.

I hear you asking about the stars aligning, well this came by way of a walk around the outside of the property. Mike was busy taking some measurements, checking the underhoused space and I receive a call that would change ourselves forever.

Your Pregnant…

So not only were we both holding fulltime jobs and looking to place an offer on a huge renovation project we now had to achieve it all whilst expecting our first little renovator baby, an absolute blessing mind you and we couldn’t be happier.

Although poor Mike is having to take care of most of the heavy lifting we are completely and utterly enjoying this time in our lives.

We brought a house

With all that our offer was eventually accepted, and yes we had to offer a little more as there was huge interest in purchasing a property for such a low price in the area, even in its current condition.  

At just over three months pregnant we settled and received the keys. Notable this did not go as smoothly as we hoped but it finally became our newest projects.

Yes, we had issues, and they were simply due to the previous owner having trouble removing all the items from the house to which pushed settlement back by a few weeks, however we along with our solicitor had a clause in place to ensure that we would not be slugged with a huge clean-up bill.

Luckily, this clause was put into action on the day of settlement. Which meant that if all rubbish were not removed, we would receive some money back to cover the costs and Yes, the owners honoured this.

We celebrated, went to bunnings, got some much needed supplies, changed the locks on the first day and put some safety measures in place to ensure access would be as safe as possible.

Let the renovation begin…