The PROPERTY DOCTORS, Sydney Australia Novak Properties
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The PROPERTY DOCTORS, Sydney Australia Novak Properties
EP. 1424 Turning your rent from $750 to $1350pw
Diamonds hiding in plain sight - that's what property investors often miss when looking at strata apartments. This eye-opening discussion reveals how strategic thinking can transform ordinary spaces into extraordinary investments.
We dive deep into a remarkable case study from Dee Why's 111 Oaks Avenue, where savvy investors spotted potential others missed. By converting part of an L-shaped living area into a guest bedroom before settlement, they achieved the near-impossible: doubling their rental income from $750 to $1,350 weekly. The most stunning part? This transformation, along with minor cosmetic updates like modern lighting and sleek black kitchen handles, cost merely $20,000 while adding approximately $200,000 in property value.
The conversation expands beyond this specific example to explore the untapped potential lurking in strata properties everywhere. From selling roof space for additional stories with premium views to ground-floor units acquiring communal lawn areas as private courtyards, these practical hacks can dramatically increase returns. The key insight: people often live in spaces for years without recognizing valuable modification opportunities right under their noses.
Before your next renovation, consider consulting a real estate agent rather than just builders or carpenters. We understand the market value of specific changes and can spot opportunities others miss. As we say, "I haven't sent a floor plan that I can't add value to." Send us your floor plan today, and let's discover what hidden potential your property might be concealing.
Guys, out of the box thinking with Strata, it's not always set and forget. You can make a lot of money with rent and a lot of money with sales if you're thinking out of the box with Strata, with your floor plan, with views. Stay tuned, we're going to give you some more nuggets.
Speaker 2:I'm the ringleader, so let's go. Josh Wapshot, mark Novak. Good morning, good good.
Speaker 1:Who's your grey box? Next to on your left, on your shoulder there, the little grey box, he's your friend. I next to on your left, on your shoulder there, this little grey box, he's your friend.
Speaker 2:I know he's following me around today. It seems Can't get rid of him. That's where Cupid sits, I know, hey, oh wrong one.
Speaker 1:Jesus, tell me about 8 at 111 Oaks Avenue, because everyone in the office yesterday was astonished with the result. How did someone do so well with a slight alteration in the property and how can we teach people to do this with their own properties and what to look for?
Speaker 2:Well, quickly introduce to you the floor plan of 8111 here. So basically you've got. We had like an L-shaped entertainment dining area. I'm not sure if you can see that here, but that's that little area there was where we had the entertaining.
Speaker 2:Previously, buyers here were investors of mine, looking for a flexible floor space. This did have it about 120 squares upstairs. Since then, what they've done they've obviously exchanged on the property prior to settlement, were given early access via the vendor to install a guest room. So instead of probably a bigger entertaining area, what they've done in that floor plan is essentially they've added that guest bedroom in here and that wall lines up right next with the kitchen, so it almost becomes like a little hallway here out into your dining living and obviously your balcony area. So what I did there was I said, mate, there's a perfect space here for a guest bedroom, this close to the beach and Oaks, you know, for an investment we could definitely do a lot better for for you in regards to the previous rent.
Speaker 2:So this was all done. He's got a great contact. A trader that came in basically did an amazing job, put in that guest bedroom and essentially I then took that to the rental market prior to them settling, and we managed to secure a tenant yesterday, deposit secured for $13.50 per week. It's almost doubling uh what the the property was originally rented for and probablya 25 uplift um on your average rental yield on a unit in dy. So um fantastic result, uh for for the customer, um for the new owner absolutely fantastic so people?
Speaker 1:what I notice with people is they can be living in a floor plan for 10 years or 20 years and not actually see the diamonds under their nose just because they've been there for such a long time. Or a buyer could go through a property and not be looking for this and not see this. So what we want to encourage people to do is actually be looking for a floor plan where you can put a wall, you can slide a kitchen around, do something a little bit different and add enormous value. Now, a guest room which has got the ability to put a sofa bed, which has got the ability to put a desk, is what people absolutely pine for, what people love. So doing that is going to add a lot of value. So, in terms of adding value to this property, these guys have probably added a couple of hundred thousand in value at least, and these guys have definitely doubled their rent. So the rent was $750 per week and now the rent is $1,350 per week. Did they do much else to the property, josh?
Speaker 2:$1350 per week. Did they do much else to the property, josh? They did do a couple of other slight changes, but very minor, and that included replacing some of the lighting in the property and just the kitchen handles from the old like shark nose type handles to a nice sleek black one. But all very minor. When you think about you, you know what the property was purchased for and the upgrades they've spent. We sold the property for 1.445, or I sold the property for 1.445 million and considering I'd say it wouldn't cost them more than maybe $20,000 for the works. So when you compare that cost to the cost of purchasing the unit and what value that's brought to the owners I'd like to sort of to compare it to any of our commercial guys out there or girls it's like putting a mezzanine in your storage or your warehouse. You're getting that extra floor space, that extra use, which is unlocking the potential and value in the property, which is what we're talking about this morning, mark can.
Speaker 1:Just, it's just under your nose under your nose. So I reckon if you went through so dy's got maybe 70 units for sale at the moment. I reckon if you went through dy, you'd probably find a bit less than a handful of units where you could make a quick design modification that can double your rent, increase your rent substantially and your value. This is what we want you to look for today, guys. Other things we spoke about um off air that we're saying where you could add a lot of value is sometimes we're seeing people now sell their roof space so they're in an area that can actually take another story and that story has amazing views.
Speaker 1:So there's opportunities there, like smaller blocks at courtyards. People are in a block four. They get onto body corporate. There's been a lawn mowing guy coming out for 50 years, 40 years, 30 years, 20 years and they're paying per week to mow that lawn and that and the ground floor unit turns around with no balcony and says, hey, lawn. And the ground floor unit turns around with no balcony and says, hey, if I could put this grassed area on my title, you won't have to maintain it as a block any longer and the other three owners go yeah, I'll do that.
Speaker 2:Genius. Yeah, actually, same thing happened in the block. The bottom floor of that complex there was sold prior to us selling. I think it sold for a little bit less, but yeah, they requested against the bylaws as part of the sale to include that backyard area as their own and they took over responsibilities of that. So yeah, it definitely does happen, mark, and that's happened in that exact exact building. But definitely the value add is where I think unlocking the potential and the new, the new way to sort of um unlock the value in these properties that you know you wouldn't previously very important and I think it's a big thing moving forward strata property hacks.
Speaker 1:We've got more up our sleeve. Just give me the call and send us your floor plan and we can tell you what, uh, what you, what, what you could do to add some value. I haven't sent a floor plan that I can't add value to. So always share with your agent. People will always go to like a kitchen guy or a carpenter and stuff and try to modify their floor plan, or a builder, but going to a real estate agent, they understand the intrinsic value of the change and what changes need to be done. So, guys, if you're doing a renovation in a strata or you're wanting to modify a floor plan, talk to us, talk to your local agent, because we understand what adds enormous value to floor plans.
Speaker 2:Exactly Well said, mark. Do you want to add anything further? No, perfect, sounds like a good way to end it. Well, thanks everyone for watching in this morning and, like Mark said, reach out More than happy to help in how to uh uh, incentivize those floor plans for you love you guys have a great day, see ya.