{"id":9478,"date":"2019-10-18T01:05:04","date_gmt":"2019-10-18T01:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/design-duo-share-their-best-and-worst-renovating-decisions\/"},"modified":"2019-10-18T01:05:04","modified_gmt":"2019-10-18T01:05:04","slug":"design-duo-share-their-best-and-worst-renovating-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/design-duo-share-their-best-and-worst-renovating-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Design duo share their best and worst renovating decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

We\u2019ve reached the end of our Mother Flipper series. There were laughs. There were tears. And there were plenty of regrets.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To recap, mother-daughter duo Noela Coffey and Carla Barton purchased a home in Sydney\u2019s Leichhardt for $1.2 million, fixing it up with the intention to sell. But when they found the market had turned, they had no choice but to consider renting it out instead.<\/p>\n

Want to avoid making the same mistakes Coffey and Barton made? We asked them to share. But not only are they sharing their home flip faux-pas, they\u2019re also revealing the reno choices they did right.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what they said:<\/p>\n

100% no regrets\u2026<\/h2>\n

Installing quality fixtures and finishes<\/h3>\n
\"Before<\/p>\n

BEFORE: The bathroom was in a dire state.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

With both women working as interior<\/a> designers, they understood the value of installing quality fixtures and finishes from the very start. \u201cI think we picked really good stuff including Intrim Mouldings so I\u2019m really happy with all of that,\u201d says Barton.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe picked products quite effectively and I think they will be a massive positive when we\u2019re looking for tenants or if we do decide to sell. People will really appreciate the finishes we\u2019ve selected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Bathroom<\/p>\n

AFTER: Intrim mouldings were used throughout to carry on the original mouldings detailing. Picture: Caroline McCredie<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Having a Plan B<\/h3>\n

The plan was always to sell. But when the market turned and Barton and Coffey realised they\u2019d be making a loss if they sold, they had to default to Plan B: renting until the selling market improved.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you\u2019ve bought it at the top of the market and renovated it, you\u2019ve got to continue down that path and just rent it out,\u201d says Coffey. \u201cLuckily, we had that Plan B.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding tradesmen on a referral basis<\/h3>\n
\"Outdoor<\/p>\n

BEFORE: The outdoor area needed the attention of professionals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

While renovating, Coffey and Barton aimed to only use tradesmen who\u2019d come recommended. \u201cWe learnt the hard way obviously, getting trades out of the Yellow Pages and them not doing the right job,\u201d says Barton.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut since we made sure they all came from a referral, all our trades have been great \u2013 we\u2019ve had no issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"After<\/p>\n

AFTER: The sunny space is now barbecue-ready.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A tinge of regret\u2026<\/h2>\n

Buying a house in a conservation area<\/h3>\n

Easily the biggest regret of all? Buying in a conservation area, say both Coffey and Barton.<\/p>\n

\"Before<\/p>\n

BEFORE: The laundry was chock full of appliances and in need of a declutter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIf you have a conservation home, what you submit to council and what\u2019s approved is what you have to build,\u201d says Barton. \u201cIf you want to change it, you have to lodge a request to council which can mean more money and more time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking on the project management<\/h3>\n

Coffey and Barton had a builder on site until the lock-up part of the renovation. Being at the near end of the renovation and wanting to save money, they then decided to project manage themselves.<\/p>\n

\"Door<\/p>\n

AFTER: Keeping the old details, like these door handles, was a conscious decision from the pair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Not necessarily the wisest decision, says Barton.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve saved money [ditching their builder] but unfortunately it\u2019s meant everything\u2019s dragged out on the timeline which then means more mortgage<\/a> repayments,\u201d she says. \u201cA builder would\u2019ve pushed to have things done quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Choosing a house that needed a lot of work<\/h3>\n
\"Before<\/p>\n

BEFORE: The house had beautiful bones, but called for a lot of changes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Lastly, Barton says she wishes they\u2019d picked a home that needed only a cosmetic renovation. \u201cI would have bought a house that needed interior renovations with no structural work so just a new kitchen, bathroom, paint<\/a> and flooring,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"After<\/p>\n

AFTER: With both structural and cosmetic makeovers, the house is now living to its full potential.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Barton says she wished she hadn\u2019t added an extension to their property, which had proved\u00a0tricky to install because of soil levels. \u201cIt was a huge stab in the money bank,\u201d says Barton.<\/p>\n

All pictures by Caroline McCredie.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Realestate au <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve reached the end of our Mother Flipper series. There were laughs. There were tears. And … Design duo share their best and worst renovating decisions<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[981,208,374,509,15239,203,205,561,201,62,510,512,12908,543,562,127,557,563,617,559,207,202,558,508,570,206,565,560,515,566,408,204,569,568,41,326,818,84,385,513,200,511,567,564,645,907,3053,514],"class_list":["post-9478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opportunities-in-new-markets","tag-a-house","tag-best-real-estate-websites","tag-buy-a-house","tag-buy-house","tag-chase","tag-condos-for-sale","tag-estate-agent","tag-estate-agents","tag-flats-for-sale","tag-for-sale","tag-foreclosed-homes","tag-foreclosed-homes-for-sale","tag-home","tag-home-buying-guide","tag-home-for-sale","tag-homes","tag-homes-for-sale","tag-homes-for-sale-by-owner","tag-house","tag-house-for-sale","tag-house-sale","tag-house-sales","tag-houses-for-sale","tag-houses-for-sale-by-owner","tag-land-for-sale","tag-mansions-for-sale","tag-mls-listing","tag-mls-listings","tag-mls-real-estate","tag-mls-search","tag-mortgage","tag-new-homes","tag-new-homes-for-sale","tag-properties-for-sale","tag-property","tag-property-for-sale","tag-real","tag-real-estate","tag-real-estate-agent","tag-real-estate-agents","tag-real-estate-broker","tag-real-estate-companies","tag-real-estate-for-sale","tag-real-estate-listings","tag-renting","tag-tenant","tag-tenants","tag-townhomes-for-sale"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/REA-MotherFlippers-119BalmainRd-Befores-Hi-42-1500x2000.jpg?fit=1500%2C2000&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}