The key to a profitable renovation

Cherie says anyone with a flair for design and spare cash can make a property look amazing. However, big ideas require big budgets and if renovation is a wealth-building strategy then you have to keep a close eye on the bottom line.

Here, in her own words, Cherie shares her favourite strategy, which she calls the cookie cutter approach to renovating.

Cherie says:
Don’t get me wrong, I love interior designers and property stylists and have a tremendous amount of respect for their craft, but if you’re renovating properties priced in the low to medium price range, it’s unlikely your property will warrant an individual design approach.

There’s a time and a place for eye-catching interior design and that designer wow factor that will have you drooling to your knees. That is in structural renovation territory, where dilapidated dumps in trendy inner-city locations and the middle-ring suburbs are being snapped up by eager-beaver renovators with price tags of $750,000 and above. The hope here is to throw everything at it and aim to resell for almost double the purchase price.

In come the surveyors, the town planner, architects, engineers, interior designers and a swag of other expensive team members to help you design and renovate your way to some cracking hot profits. This is where a cookie cutter approach would be completely the wrong strategy and could lose you money. With a structural reno you need to spend money to make money.

In comes the cookie cutter strategy, says Cherie
For cosmetic renovations on lower priced properties, you don’t have the budget for individual design. By developing a palette of colours, materials and even tradies that you transport from one project to the next, you streamline your costs, timeline and processes saving you big time. This is called the cookie cutter approach.

The trick is to use colours and quality finishes that stand the test of time. You’ll stick to a family of flooring, kitchen finishes and other details, but the point is you have all those materials ready to roll out on every project.

Your team of tradies know exactly what to do with any new project, so there’s no need for you to be on site every day.

Cookie cutting your renovation also minimises wastage. Those leftover tiles, laminate flooring and bargain lights that you bought a bundle of can simply be used on the next project.

Of course, you can make minor tweaks to your cookie cutter to individualise the look.

It’s the key to profitability, and ensuring renovations run on time and to strict budget.

Tips
To hit your profit target, you need to have:
• Bought your property at the right price
• Know the formulas of what, and where to spend on your reno
• Correctly estimate (through market research) what it’s going to sell for once renovated
• Once you have these three critical goal posts in place, you’ll be on your way to making a decent profit.

For more from Cherie visit renovatingforprofit.com.au