Six Tips When Looking For Your Next Do Up

At Niche, we’ve lived through many renovations over the last few years. Here are a few quick tips on what we’ve discovered along the way…

1. F L O O R A R E A

A common mishap when people are house hunting, is focusing on bedroom number. Instead of this, we suggest a greater consideration being the floor area of the house. If a house is boasting 4 bedrooms and your floor area is only 93m2, this is where you can run into trouble. In the same breath, if you happen upon a 3 bedroom with that’s 200m2, you instantly know you’ve got room to work with and add value.

This Cambridge renovation was a great purchase; 210m2 for three bedrooms.

2. I S I T B U I L T F O R T H E S U N?

Sometimes old character homes can look beautiful, but they’ve been built to face the street, forgetting where the sun shines best. If you can avoid moving joinery when renovating - this can be a big saving. Getting new joinery for an old home requires building consent and double glazing. This can be impractical, if you want to just change one window.

This classic 1970’s boomerang was well built for the sun.

3. W O R S T H O U S E O N T H E B E S T S T R E E T

A tried and true method. In our experience, we have seen our capital value increase in a short space of time when renovating this type of house. In cities like Hamilton, the lines are becoming blurred between low and high socio economic areas. This can be advantageous to the potential buyer. You might sneak in on the edge of a reputable neighbourhood through buying a bargain one street over.

4. L A N D A R E A

Questions to ask yourself when purchasing - What are your neighbours doing on the street? Is it established with large houses on smaller sections, or does the street have small homes on larger sections, that are likely to become developed? (Read Hamilton City Council’s latest development proposals here.)

Do you see your house as a family home, where you want to keep the big backyard? Or will you feel tempted to sell up and develop it as your future nest egg?

5. P L A N A H E A D

Plan into your purchase your wants and needs within the renovation. If you require lending for your purchase and reno, check with the bank on what they will allow you to borrow, surplus of the property purchase itself. Have a pre-purchase consultation with our team, where we can help you find the vision for your space and estimate how much money you will need to set aside before you make the purchase.

6. D O N ’T F A L L I N L O V E

No one likes an emotional buyer. Set your budget and work with that. Remember, it’s likely you will lose out on the first few attempts at buying- this is a good thing. It means you’re not being too risky with your spending, while getting your head in the market and really knowing what things are worth. If you are to fall in love with something, fall in love with the potential of the property, not what you see at face value.