This deal was completed as a joint venture between several mentoring students working together, which allowed them to take advantage of the opportunity this property presented. Shane found the property listed online, and it caught his eye because it was advertised as a ‘do up’ project with an overseas vendor 'serious about selling'.

The location was close to motorway access, handy to a variety of amenities in Manukau City, and was on the border of a more affluent suburb. While the dwelling was bland and uninspiring on the outside, the inside was a riot of clashing bright colours.

The house was typical 1970s low-cost construction with three bedrooms, one bathroom and a single garage. It had a generous sized living area, a large elevated deck at the front, and a decent sized section (600m2) that was quite untidy.

After inspecting the property, the joint venture group reviewed their findings and calculations under the guidance of their mentor. Shane bid for it at the April 2019 auction by telephone, winning the property at a purchase price of $550,000.

Settlement occurred in June 2019 and the group got their planned renovation underway. Some repair work to the roof was required, a new deck was added in the rear yard, and a fence was installed at the front of the property making the section pet and child-friendly. Inside, an internal wall between the kitchen and living area was removed to create a light-filled open plan living area, simultaneously removing an old fireplace. Renovation costs totalled $65,000.

All the work was finished within six weeks and the property was listed for sale. Two offers were received in the first two days. The joint venture group were delighted with the final sale price of $710,000, as this exceeded their expectations and was achieved very quickly. Project profit, after GST was paid, was $49,434.

A three-bedroom house in Papatoetoe was advertised for sale and generated a lot of interest, with no less than six groups inspecting it at the first open home, including one of our students and his mentor.

The mentor thought it would be worth checking to see if the second lounge could be turned into a fourth bedroom without ruining the flow of the house, as this would add significant value. So, under his guidance, our client quickly worked out that this would be possible, what the cost of the renovations would be, and double-checked the numbers. Additionally, his mentor helped him to complete a current market analysis to ascertain the present value of the property and what it would be worth after the renovations were complete.

Armed with this knowledge, our client was able to approach the vendor at the open home, and negotiate there and then. Other buyers were still checking the hot water cylinder and faffing around doing their due diligence, but our client’s research of prices in the area and knowledge about how to add value to the home allowed him to act fast.

The property was purchased for $625,000, renovations cost $50,000, and it was sold seven weeks later for $735,000. By adding a bedroom and sprucing the place up, the deal produced a tidy $60,00k gross profit ($20,000 net profit) in under two months.

Our clients purchased a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, modern brick and tile property in Weymouth, which was for sale by auction. When the auction paused for negotiations, they called their mentor for advice and ended up buying the property for $625,000 (which was $25,000 under CV).

Spending $27,000 on renovations, they converted the house from three to four bedrooms, and sold it for $750,000. After tax and expenses, they made a net profit of $40,000.

A lot of investors don’t go for this type of construction in this type of suburb because they assume it’s a homeowner area and they don’t see the potential for improvement. But if you know what to look for and can identify the angle, there are good gains to be made.