Do you have an existing property in Australia and are unsure if you should hold, renovate, rebuild or sell? We have many clients in the same position, they come to us unsure of what to do with their existing home or investment property.

  • Should you renovate and add a bedroom, and bathroom, put in a pool, or sell?

  • If it's an investment property, would it be better to lease it on the short-term rental market?

  • What’s the property appraisal, costs, timings, and return on investment for each option?

If this is you, our free webinar on Milk Chocolate Property feasibilities is not to be missed. We'll detail how the feasibilities are built using the expertise of each Milk Chocolate Property vertical including;

  • Research, Data, Planning & Analytics

  • Purchasing

  • Construction

  • Property & Maintenance Management

Being held on the 31st of August, 2022 at 6.30pm (AEST), 12.30pm (GST), and 4.30pm (SST/HKT).

Here are a few recent examples and presented options.

Example 1

The Brief

In 2017, our client purchased a 2009 built, two-storey home on 1,250sqm of land in Sydney. They wanted to understand all the possible options to generate capital growth through a smart renovation and what would be the best return on investment for their lifestyle and financial drivers.

Our Approach

We undertook a full feasibility study looking at all the options the client had considered and some additional we thought would be worth throwing into the mix. We then provided our recommendations on the best way forward.

Option 1: Looked at keeping the property in its current condition without any renovation or construction works and the forecasted capital growth on simply doing nothing.

Option 2: Included a ground floor extension utilising architectural plans our client had already sourced. It also included new flooring, painting, and joinery, as well as fixtures, fittings, and appliances on the ground floor.

Option 3: Included all the items in option 2, however, also includes a cosmetic renovation of the lower ground and upper levels with additional works including: Internal painting throughout, new engineered timber boards throughout, replacing a kitchenette, re-doing laundry space, and 3 bathrooms including new joinery and fittings, replacing 4 wardrobes, 2 linen cupboards, and new lighting throughout​.

Option 4: Was as per scenario 3 with the addition of a swimming pool. We include this option as ~70% of homes in the suburb have one and are therefore seen as desirable, opening the home up to a stronger pool of buyers in the future.

Option 5: This was a variation of option 3 with a more cost-effective floor plan layout that Milk Chocolate designed. The renovation still included a cosmetic uplift of the lower ground and upper levels, however, the ground floor extension was slightly reduced as a cost-saving measure.

Example 2

The brief

Our client recently purchased a home with an approved development application (DA). The application was about to expire and they engaged us to cut the numbers, understand their return on investment, the construction time frames, and manage the application extension if required.

Our Approach

We went to work undertaking an analysis of the neighbourhood, surrounding homes, and construction costs. This included the options in the existing DA and some extras our internal team thought would be worth considering.

Option 1: Included a new pool and landscaping as per the approved DA plans.

Option 2: Looked at the construction of a garden studio and wine cellar, also as per the approved DA plans.

Option 3: Had the construction of a pool and entertaining area that Milk Chocolate designed.

Option 4: Was the whole box and dice, including a pool, studio with wine cellar, and outdoor entertaining area.

Option 5: Was a pool and studio but left out the wine cellar.

Example 3 

The brief 

Our clients purchased a block of two 2-bedroom and four 1-bedroom units in April 2021 in a prominent beachside location. They were interested in a potential renovation of all the apartments or redevelopment of the site and wanted a detailed analysis and return on investment across all the options.

Our Approach

All our verticals came together to look at the area, homes, design and construction, and short-term vs. long-term tenant opportunities across 6 options.

Option 1: Keep the existing units in their current condition and understand the cash flow performance across short and long-term tenants.

Option 2: Knock down the existing building and redevelop the site into a 5-bed, 3-bath, 3-car detached house with an internal floor space of 300sqm.

Option 3: Knock down the existing building, subdivide the block of land and build two 4-bed, 3-bath, 2-car detached houses with an internal floor space of 300sqm.

Option 4: Keep the existing units and undertake a full cosmetic renovation of each apartment. Again creating two cash flow scenarios, one for the short-term market, and the second on the long-term market.

Option 5: Keep the existing units, undertake a full cosmetic renovation of them and build two new 1-bed, 1-bath apartments at the back of the building. Showing both short and long-term numbers again.

Option 5b: A variation of the previous option, based on the assumption of the council’s approval of only one additional unit, instead of two.