Renovating for Capital Gain in Investment Properties
Have you ever renovated an investment property? If you have I wonder how you felt about it after it was all completed and you could stand back and look at the whole exercise. There are several fascinating comments that consistently come up when that question is questioned: “I copied another color scheme I had seen but it did not work in my place” “I opened up the dining and lounge area but it didn’t look right once I had finished and it cost a lot so I was disappointed because I don’t feel it added to the value of the property in the end” “I paved an new entertaining area but that area just does not get the sun and we don’t use if very much even though it looks quite nice”
What I have noticed in all of these comments is that there were quite genuine mistakes made by property owners so let’s look at each one. Copying someone else’s color scheme does not always fit because of the size of the rooms, the aspect of the house or even the shape of the room. With investment properties it is best to try and keep colours to neutral because that will suit more tenants furnishings, plus it is simpler to repaint if necessary. Sometimes the layout of rooms just does not work and this could be because of the way one room leads into another, the foot traffic or the fact that by removing a wall it does make the rooms less private so the size of the house makes a difference when removing walls.
Consider whether the lack of privacy with one huge room is better than smaller rooms. Again, look at how an area will be used and double check this before outlaying money. All renovations are expensive to a certain degree and unless there is a financial benefit with an investment property it is not worth outlaying the funds. Their needs to be either a certain rental income increase and hopefully a capital gain as well. Do remember that any improvements should be added to your depreciation schedule. If you do not know a qualified Quantity Surveyor to do that job for you just contact us at We Find Houses on 1800 690 890 and we can refer you to an brilliant one who has offices throughout Australia.
Tags: flat, house-or-even, houses, make-the-rooms, Moving, neutral-because, rooms, though-it-looks
