Three Simple Tactics to Prevent Your Renovation Budget from Exceeding Expectations

Carla Barton and Noela Coffey are well-versed in house flipping; as stars of our Mother Flipper series in Sydney where an abandoned property is gutted and transformed – these mother/daughter duo know exactly how to transform houses! Carla knows just about all there is to know about flipping houses!

They purchased a home in Sydney’s Leichhardt for $1.2 million and gave it the full royal treatment.

Here, we ask them to reveal their budgeting secrets for house flipping.

1. Establish Your Budget
Establishing a budget is critical when doing a flip, according to Coffey. “The purpose of flipping is making a profit and so staying within your budget allows for that goal,” she notes.

“Without having a budget,” states Barton, it would be impossible to ascertain whether investing is going to be worthwhile.

“To calculate the total investment cost, add together the purchase price plus renovation costs plus fees; compare this number against comparable sales in your area to determine whether it would yield any profits and whether this investment makes financial sense for you.

Coffey and Barton established their budget of $120,000 by drawing upon previous renovation and flip experiences as well as consulting builders to get quotes for the property in question.

“Initially we received three quotes from different builders for approximately the same cost so we were able to come up with our budget from there,” states Coffey.

Once they had their budget in mind, they divided it up into sections such as kitchen, bathrooms, building work for an extension, flooring installation, electrical and plumbing.

2. Choose Tradesmen Wisely
A key strategy Coffey and Barton use when seeking cost-effective renovation is shopping around for tradespeople and getting multiple quotes for every project they undertake – even though this may take longer, ensuring no one is taking advantage of them, says Barton. “It may take longer, but knowing someone won’t rip you off makes all the difference.”

“Knowing that your payments aren’t excessive can give you peace of mind,” according to Ms. Hines.

“Similarly, sometimes it can go the other way around; if everyone else is quoting $10k and you receive one quote for $2000 instead, perhaps something has been missed out of his quote – in which case, you must cross-check to ensure all parties involved have quoted evenly.”

“We found that any tradesperson we hired online – even ones with excellent reviews online – wasn’t nearly as good as those referred by people within the industry or friends.

3. Spend on aesthetics
Finally, Barton advises us to spend on aesthetics as part of your budget plan: bathroom tiles, stone bench tops and European appliances should all be considered investments that may increase in value over time.

“People will pay money for and notice. While they might not necessarily know which type of plaster you used on the wall, they will surely notice which brand of appliances have been purchased as well as whether you used ceramic tiles or marble.”

But Barton emphasizes the importance of knowing who your buyer is. If it’s an investment property you plan on renting out later, marble probably wouldn’t make an appearance; but if it’s for sale and at higher-end market, buyers may expect these types of products.

“Adding mouldings and creating character to any project certainly gives it a more high-end aesthetic,” according to her. It gives the impression of spending more money, which visitors appreciate greatly.

Coffey and Barton employed Intrim Mouldings to complement the original features of their property, such as high ceilings and wide skirtings. “We love its charm – beautiful high ceilings with grand proportions” said Coffey.

“Intrim was instrumental in customising all of the mouldings for architraves, skirtings, and window frames so we could maintain all original detailing throughout our extension project.”