How can people "love" renovating?

I hear this from people a lot. "You must really love doing renovations", "at least you are doing something that you love". Or random people commenting saying how much they "love doing renovations".

I absolutely HATE renovations with a passion. I would rather be punched in the face repeatedly rather than undertake another renovation project...however I suck it up and do it anyway because hard work can pay good money.

I love the result of the renovations = nicer house = nicer equity = nicer rental return.

But honestly how can people love the actual renovations?

The people that say that, must surely be the sorts of people that when they say they "renovate" they actually mean they "ring tradies to come and do all the hard work". But even then...you are having to deal with bloody tradies!

But to actually do all the work yourself... and still "love it" baffles me.

Working in horrible conditions, relentlessly, for months on end, using all your holidays from your regular job to spend renovating... spending 10 hours straight on a hot roof in the sun laying down sheets etc... constantly smashing yourself with hammers, dropped bits of wood, kicking your toes, visits to the emergency ward to get stitched up, burning yourself with welders or hot drill bits, constant trips to bunnings, spending all of your money, spending all of your free time....

How can people "love" that?

Maybe take out the time pressure and the money pressure and it would be okay...ish. But honestly since when do you get a building/renovating project that doesn't have time or money pressure?

I'm really at a loss with this one. Am I missing something that makes renovating super enjoyable?

Honestly if I had to put a dollar in a swear jar every time I swore at my house while doing renovations it would be cheaper for me to pay tradies to do all the work.

I've always liked it, but mostly on the homes I have lived in. I work in an office, but renovating or building gives me huge satisfaction. I don't care about adding value to the property or anything like that. I just like doing stuff with my hands and I'm pretty good at it. I love looking at and using something that I have made - a kitchen, bathroom, shed, whatever. Right now, I'm finishing a bathroom - up to the tiling. It's a while since I have done any tiling and I'm looking forward to doing some this weekend.
Scott

Tim, if you don't love it, why not find something that you do love and figure out a way to make good money from that?

If I recall, you were really enthusiastic like 12 months ago? so what happened,

ive done heaps of renos, and some have been tougher then others, but I love it!

depreciator said:

I've always liked it, but mostly on the homes I have lived in. I work in an office, but renovating or building gives me huge satisfaction. I don't care about adding value to the property or anything like that. I just like doing stuff with my hands and I'm pretty good at it. I love looking at and using something that I have made - a kitchen, bathroom, shed, whatever. Right now, I'm finishing a bathroom - up to the tiling. It's a while since I have done any tiling and I'm looking forward to doing some this weekend.
Scott

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I agree with this, I love working with my hands and I like to think I'm pretty good at it. There's something about starting with something that looks a bit rough (or a complete dump) and seeing the finished result.
Admittedly though it's a lot more personally rewarding when it's your PPOR so you get to enjoy the fruits of your labour.

'Honestly if I had to put a dollar in a swear jar every time I swore at my house while doing renovations it would be cheaper for me to pay tradies to do all the work. '

I liked this comment too

Preference. I have not done any reno (yet), but love making thinsg with my hand - I sew dog beds for my dog, make my own bread etc because I find it fascinating - I have input and I have output, I can see and touch the results and can improve from there.

If I know how to do reno (paintint, tiling, ripping up bathroom, ripping up kitchen etc) and have time to do it, I reckon I would like it.

I loved renovating many, many years ago. After a couple of renos I got over it and now we outsource almost everything.

I have done a couple in the last few years, after working in the office, I got the chance to re discover old skills I had. Cant say I would like to do it full time, everything in moderation springs to mind.

Chomp

Tim86 said:

I would rather be punched in the face repeatedly rather than undertake another renovation project...

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Are you sure? Cause you followed up with...

Tim86 said:

However I suck it up and do it anyway because hard work can pay good money.

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So you obviously prefer to do the reno's.

Tim86 said:

I'm really at a loss with this one. Am I missing something that makes renovating super enjoyable?

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I've only done one small reno, and I don't enjoy it as such, however I do enjoy working with tools. The part I didn't like was having no free time and having to live in a house with reno's (it was a kitchen we did, so it was a pain not having a kitchen)

My father in law and my mate that helped me with the reno, truly love reno's. They have a desk job and see tool time as therapeutic...They would do it full time if they could make the same money as their desk job.

I don't think I'd like it because I'm not good at it and would lose money on the first few during the learning process. I would rather work my day job (which is actually not too bad) than be banging at things with a hammer and stuck on google trying to figure out how to do building projects.

If I could outsource the whole Reno and make money I would do it, but it's not my main strategy as I don't want to distract from my day job too much.

Done a few over the last few years and now a new chapter in my life and nearly sold off my entire portfolio except a couple of others next financial year,seriously I am over the property thing for now I have made good money over the past 10 years and now time to enjoy the fruits of my labour,
Macca446

I still enjoy undertaking renos depending upon the scope. The last few I did were mostly repainting using subbies except for one large defit/make good for an outgoing tenant which had a very tight time frame between lease expiry and the next tenant moving in.

Happy client, happy outgoing tenant & happy incoming tenant - all with no rent loss.

Tim86 said:

I hear this from people a lot. "You must really love doing renovations", "at least you are doing something that you love". Or random people commenting saying how much they "love doing renovations".

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For me it ticks every box for my crazy personality -

I love to work alone and avoid people, I love to work at my own pace and set my own timeframes without interruptions, it allows you to be really creative, it allows you to do physical activity, and it makes you money most times.

I did a 3 week stint over to W.A on my own last year to renovate a unit we own there, and even though the days were hard and long, it was the most at peace I've felt in a long while.

The only thing I don't like about renos is getting halfway through a task and realising you need something from the hardware store.
My latest reno at home has been particularly enjoyable. Because it's a building in my backyard, it's right near my sheds where I have every tool and often the materials I need. It's great being about to walk 10 meters and pull out, say, the plastic tub with my tiling stuff, or the one with my plumbing bits.

I might not hate it as much if I had a holiday. It's been almost 3 years since I've had a holiday. I've got about 2 years of renovation projects lined up right now. But in 2 - 3 months I should be able to take a week off.

Some days I swear I just want to burn the house to the ground. But I'm sure once I'm actually finished and enjoying the fruits of my labour I'll look back and see the experience differently.

But at this stage when you're running out of money to complete the build and you've been doing it straight for 5 months already... and when I say straight I mean every single spare moment.

Take the next couple of days for example. I'll start work on the house at 8:30am tomorrow morning, work straight without any breaks until 6pm. Then leave for my actual job at 9:30pm and work until 6am. Then I'll wake up at 11 am and renovate until 6pm. Then Sunday I'll work on the house from 9am until 1pm then leave for my actual job from 1:30pm to 10:00pm. Etc...

Just gotta keep telling myself that it's going to be worth it. I guess there's lots of people that work their butts off and still don't get ahead, so I can't complain too much.

eXc said:

Are you sure? Cause you followed up with...


So you obviously prefer to do the reno's.

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To clarify, if getting punched in the face got me a renovated house, I would choose that over actually doing the renovations

That is it! Burnout is the issue not renovating itself. I had a few yrs like this, every week of annual leave went on finding or fixing properties. I got tired. I have had nearly 3 yrs off from a reno now. Im itching to do another!

Get yourself that rest. However you can. Even if its a few weeks leave without pay, it will be worth it.

Tim86 said:

I might not hate it as much if I had a holiday.

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Many of the replies here ring true for us. I have a love/hate relationship with renovating. I've helped paint, sometimes a whole house mostly on my own with some help from Mum and/or our kids and hubby. Mostly hubby did carpentry and I did painting. Many of my favourite memories have been when we have renovated as a family, sitting around on paint tins with our tradies sharing a cuppa, turning an ugly house into a silk purse.

About eight years ago I sat down with my late mother (a few years before she died nearly five years ago) and we added up every renovation we had done since I was 15 and helped paint their first iP. We counted our own PPOR renos as well.

We got to 35 and we did some more before Mum passed away. Since then, we have renovated or painted (sometimes for the third time) the IPs we manage. I recall very well (and quite poignantly) telling Mum when I painted the last house, with her doing a lot of planning but me doing most of the painting that "this is the last house I will be painting for you" and "next one we pay a painter". She smiled at me and said "that's what you said last time". Three months later she got sick and I find it difficult to recall that conversation now.

I have painted since, but 18 months ago I asked a man in a paint shop for advice, got his number and he came to look at the job. He is now renting that IP and we keep him busy painting. He is painting an IP for us now and will go from that to another one. I have kept only one pair of painting clothes and don't miss it at all.

Hubby loves doing bits and pieces but loved it more when he was working in an office. It gets in your blood, I reckon.

Tim... have a rest, like others have said. You do sound like you just need a holiday from renovating. I know I went through a period where I was itching to do something. Now we are planning on developing our block and I'm back in the swing of things.

I hate it and I love it.
It really depends on my motivation, spare time and size of the reno.
The last few years I've used all my holidays to do large renovations but I have learnt a lot of useful skills and it is a good change from sitting on my *** all day at work.
I've just tried my first attempt at skimming a plaster damaged wall. Great result so far.

I also haven't done any renovations to a IP or my PPOR without it increasing value.

Tim , give yourself an upper-cut. You're doing too many hours, no breaks plus your working your regular job AND not enough sleep....get a candle and burn it from both ends, notice it doesn't last as long?

Renovating can be hard yakka, take it easy.