NZ Property Magazine

May '11 Issue

Renovating is the new black

Add rooms and you'll add value to your property, says Property Investor's May issue, out now.

Renovating and adding an extra bedroom are the quickest ways to add capital value to your rental property or your own home, says NZ Property Investor magazine in its May issue.

With average rates for any new building work running at about $1600 a square metre, plus the costs of meeting the Building Act 2004, plumbing and wiring, the magazine suggests landlords will find it a lot easier to take a large existing room and turn it into an extra bedroom.

In most cases an extra bedroom means extra rent, particularly in a situation where you are renting to flatmates or a family, says Sharon Newey in ‘Renovation for rent and resale'.

The extent of renovations depends on your target tenant, says the magazine. For example, it's no use creating an outdoor living area for students who spend all their time in their rooms studying or sleeping. However an extra bedroom will be invaluable for this group, who will pay more if they can spread the cost over more people sharing the rent.

The magazine suggests partitioning off part of a large living room, or turning a kitchen cupboard into a laundry alcove, so the former laundry can become a third or fourth bedroom. Sunrooms and garages are also good targets for expansion. Half a double garage with internal access can often be converted into sleeping quarters.

Also in May Property Investor, the commercial market is picking up and Bob Jones says Auckland is the place to invest right now. He reveals he heavily invested in the city's commercial centre while prices were low because he expects the city to recover rapidly.

New Plymouth is in focus in the May issue of NZ Property Investor. Stable prices and a big floating population of oil workers means the city is a great place to invest.