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Hey Scott & anyone else, What about residential housing? Why couldn't this same strategy work for a distressed vendor or investor? I was recently told by a legal eagle that residential lease options were effectively dead because of the stamp duty issue, but if the stamp duty doesn't need...

Hi all, Just curious, i have been looking at the idea of entering into lease option deals for purchasing properties in Victoria. I have heard that they are no longer viable as the state revenue office still want you to pay stamp duty on the contract of sale. Which after speaking to the state...

If you have engaged the inspector and you're organizing the inspections and have asked, when engaging the surveyor that you want to have all of the reports directed to you, then yes of course you should be getting a full list of not only the dates the inspections were carried out but what the...

Hi Zimby, You have a couple of options and without knowing a bit more i can give you an idea of what i would do. There is no doubt that converting the rumpus room into a 4th bedroom would be your most economical way of adding value. By the look of the plan the so called rumpus room is...

Structural elements of the roof space will be your first challenge to overcome. For example if your building into a roof space that is constructed from trusses then your going to have to make sure whoever you get to do the job is switched on with how trusses work. You just can't cut into a...

No, the carpet is very easy to pull up. Just start in a corner with a flat nose pair of pliers making sure to get as close into the corner of the room as possible. Grab a decent chunk of carpet with the pliers and gently pull the carpet away from the smooth edge (timber edge strips with very...

The reason your upper floor is squeaking is because the carpenters that put the sheet flooring down didn't use enough glue or missed joists. Also, more than likely they didn't buzz the floor joists with a planer to level them off. Glue is used on floor joists when using sheet flooring to...

In total just under 9 weeks. I was pretty fortunate with this one as i only lived around the corner. I virtually rolled out of bed and onto the driveway. MTR, you bring up another valid point that i have seen many times, not just in renovations but also new spec homes. Uneducated...

Sorry MTR, typo, not MTJ

I would share the figures MTJ, however i did the project as a JV with the owner of the property and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't want me to disclose their end of the deal. I can say the construction costs were relatively low considering the before and after result. Mainly due to light...

Totally agree with JacM, what is the final outcome going to do to the overall end value of the property? Make your decision based on that and that only.

Attached are before and after photos of a renovation/ extension I did in Mt Eliza, Vic. It was a pretty challenging job on a number of fronts. The double brick structure presented difficulties altering room sizes internally and externally and the original conventional roof system was under...

I use to do a lot of my house framing work for companies like Metricon, Simonds, Henley, Pioneer, Avonwood (not around anymore) and of course good old AV Jennings. Out of all of them Metricon had their processes squared away. They were clever in design and i found doing their frames, even...

Hi Ben, We offer this service in Victoria and we are going to launch the same thing in Qld later this year. I already have my license in Qld and could possibly do something with you. Have a look at our DIY Registered Builder page of our website for more information and if you want to...

When considering ?Value Adding?, its just not the physical design, materials used or cheap trades that can add value to a development. Easy to use and understand processes can save thousands of dollars off of a development project which in turn has the potential to add thousands to your end...

Hi tj22, we would be happy to help you out. Initially just to chat about the possibilities won't cost you anything. Is the block in Vic? We are located in Victoria and have a good handle on what you can and can't do in many areas of Vic.

There are some great cost saving ideas in this thread. Depending on your desired outcome and the state you live in will determine if any of them suit your needs. Reducing what you have to pay the builder is the most direct way of saving money on a project. However you still want to be able...

I agree with sanj, stone products can be very competitive in today's market. We used Granite Transformations on a project in Kew a number of years ago and the finish was pretty ordinary. The installers left an atrocious mess and even the supervisor for GT had other installers come in and redo...

As suggested and for the best long term result sinking the post through the concrete at lease 450mm deep supported with a concrete pad at lease 300Dia X 600Deep would prevent it from any general movement. Its a bit hard to tell how great the slab is from the photo. If its a standard...

Speaking from both sides of the coin as a tradie and a builder/ project manager I can understand the frustration it causes when trades are unreliable. With 30 years of experience behind me now I can appreciate the position project managers and trades are put in when unforeseeable...