Australian Handyman - July 2018

Before

e DIY principles

So, where to start? Well, before you

reach for your paint selections and

secateurs, it’s important to take a

moment to plan your approach.

Stylist Jo recommends taking a

photo of your house from the street and

looking at it on a computer screen.

‘You’ll get a better perspective that

way,’ she says. ‘You notice things about

your house that you never saw before.’

Cathy Morrissey, who runs the

Renovation College in NSW, suggests

sellers research their local area.

‘You need to look at what other

properties are going for in the area

and whether making a few cosmetic

diferences will add a lot to the sale

of your home,’ says Cathy.

‘Try and ind a comparable recent

sale in your street and your area, and

compare it to what your home is like.

hen set your DIY improvement budget

around how much more you’re likely to

get with those improvements.’

A couple of years ago, a client

approached Cathy about preparing his

rental investment property in western

Sydney for sale. he previous tenants

had let the garden go wild, treating the

back garden like a veritable dumping

ground for unwanted goods.

‘he house was valued at $500,000,

but a similar house, with one fewer

bedroom, sold for $600,000. So I knew

what was possible with a cosmetic

renovation,’ says Cathy.

Cathy spent about $26,000, with

$10,000 on the exterior alone – and the

house sold for $658,000 at auction.

‘Fixing it all up took about two weeks,

so it was deinitely worth it,’ says Cathy. 

After

The value of this western Sydney

home was lifted by a simple tidy-up.

74 JULY 2018 Australian Handyman

PICTURES

RENOVATION COLLEGE