Buying A 'Renovators Delight' - (Part One)

Well these little beauties may not be the buy they used to be. You may ask why, and I am going to explain. The prices of renovator’s delights and handyman’s delights are strengthening in line with the rest of the housing market. Modernizing terrace houses and revamping older style homes has become so popular that they are being sold for record prices. It seems true that all the agents need to do is list a property is derelict, wreck or unrenovated and the buyers come running.

For instance a three-bedroom terrace house in Chippendale, on Sydney's city fringe, sold for $160,000 above its reserve price. It had no kitchen, bathroom, or parking and the auctioneer expected to get about $525,000, but enthusiastic bidders took the price to $685,000 at a recent auction. Thirty people registered to bid for the property. My estimates are that to put in a state-of-the-art kitchen and bathroom with the best of appliances will cost a minimum of $100,000. A tastefully renovated house in a good street is worth about $750,000 to $800,000. For the average person, to buy that house at $685,000 and then have to spend a small fortune on renovating, is ridiculous, because there is no money there to be made. Depending on the area in which you want to purchase your ‘renovator’s delight’ you can find it easily online at the many sites that are able to be found. Furthermore, if you buy at the right price you can make a profit.

I have been searching for ‘renovators delights’, and found online online. Both are they types of houses that would be excellent to renovate. They are close to the CBD and are on large pieces of land. If you are hankering to do some renovations log on to realestate.com.au and take a look at their listings. Another site which I though was interesting was OzFreeOnline.com where I found thousands of real estate and property listings in Australia wide and some great articles that spoke of refurbishing property before selling. Search by property type, or use the quick links.

This sort of buying is not for the faint-hearted – you do need to do a lot of work yourself. Generally, the new kitchen and bathroom are the major costs involved. Builders often look at these homes, though it could suit first-home buyers up for a challenge. What you have to remember is that there are no guarantees with a house that needs renovating, and the costs may outweigh the problems involved.