O'meara Property

1/28 Achilles, Nelson Bay, Nsw
Townhouse For Lease – Leased

Fully furnished two bedroom townhouse at Little Beach. This property has a two single carports, split system air conditioning and a common BBQ area.

118/5 Horizons, Salamander Bay, Nsw
Townhouse For Lease – Leased

Fully furnished two bedroom townhouse located right on the golf course at “Horizons”. This property has all the living area downstairs and bedrooms upstairs. There is a spacious verandah off the main bedroom and a paved courtyard from the living area looking over the course.

29 Scott, Salamander Bay, Nsw
Unit For Lease – Leased

One bedroom garden flat with carport, fridge and washing machine. The tenant is to maintain the backyard. The rent includes water and electricity. Ideally suited for one person.

5/140 Old Main, Anna Bay, Nsw
Townhouse For Lease – Withdrawn

Modern three bedroom townhouse with high ceilings, separate lounge and dining areas, two bathrooms, courtyard and double garage centrally located in Anna Bay.

Many home owners who extend or renovate their homes make money when they sell, while others wonder why they have trouble getting their money back. What are the main things to consider before embarking on a renovation or extension?

Firstly, ask yourself whether improvements will make your house significantly better than the others in your street. The best-house-in-the-street phenomenon is often an unhappy one as the values of the other houses in the street affect the upgraded one – after all, this is not a street where purchasers will be looking to spend the higher prices the vendor is after. Those who renovate above and beyond the level of surrounding homes are less likely to get good capital appreciation when they sell.

Furthermore, do the changes you are making really improve the home? Many home owners simply increase the cost of their home without necessarily adding to its value, because some alterations don’t improve the standard of the property enough to compensate for their cost. Others leave a mishmash of disparate styles, or serve only to emphasise the datedness of the original house, or are too personal in their application to have wide appeal and so end up worth less than they cost.

It is not even uncommon for home owners to sacrifice one feature to gain another, thereby adding cost but not value. Frequently reported examples of this sort of expenditure include turning a bedroom into a dining room or a garage into a rumpus room.

Ideally, extensions should be seamlessly integrated with the original home. Many three-bedroom homes don’t “work” once a fourth bedroom and family room are added – the original rooms may be too small to balance the extensions. Furthermore, bad design resulting in poor natural light or an inconvenient floor plan will be reflected in the sale price of the property. Many of these problems could be avoided if architects were consulted before the work was undertaken. “Saving” on the cost of an architect is nearly always false economy.

Sometimes renovators over-capitalise by deviating from their budget during the course of their renovations. Many homes and locations don’t justify the top-of-the-range appliances and fittings some renovators choose. And if renovators run out of money before completing the work or have to skimp on the finishing touches, the overall effect can be disappointing and limit the ultimate selling price.

Home owners concerned about investment potential should also think twice before making changes for their own unique needs. Above all, major work should not be carried out if homeowners plan to sell in the near future. Sometimes a homeowner will ask a question such as: “I am planning to sell in a year but the house could do with a new bathroom. Should I undertake the work?” It could be argued that the home owner will get the benefit of using the new bathroom for the year until the property is sold, but unless they are in a location or marketplace or price range where the cost of the bathroom will be easily absorbed in the overall capital increase during the next year, it would be pointless to renovate the bathroom only to sell it. Prospective buyers may want an entirely different bathroom, or a bathroom that is very new might make the kitchen or other areas of the house look as if they need work.

The state of the market can also be an important factor in the overall cost-effectiveness of renovating a property. In a buyers’ market, such as we are currently experiencing in most parts of Australia and New Zealand, it often makes sense to take advantage of someone else’s hard work and expenditure rather than embark on costly and time-consuming renovations of your own, unless you are so attached to the property that you can’t bear to leave it, or unless you live in an area or type of home where there is always strong demand and low supply. Trading up in a buyers’ market should actually produce a financial advantage as you inevitably ‘save’ money when you purchase a more expensive house on a slow market. (For example, do your sums and work out why a 10% ‘loss’ on a $500,000 home that you are selling is less than a 10% gain you make on the $750,000 house you are buying which is also ‘losing’ its owner 10%). Trading up makes even more sense in areas where First Home Buyers’ Grants are raising the price of the kind of house you might be selling but not affecting the cost of the home you are planning to purchase.

At the same time, quality of life is also important and the good news is that if people stay in a property long term the cost of idiosyncratic changes will usually be absorbed in most locations experiencing growth. The question of whether they would have made more money by making different choices often simply doesn’t come up.

Homeowners wanting to maximise the investment potential of their homes should consider consulting an estate agent with whom they have a good relationship before making improvements. In many instances, agents aren’t called until the work is nearly completed and it’s too late to choose a different path. Builders can tell you what your renovations will cost but only an experienced, well-referenced estate agent can tell you whether the value is worth the cost sufficiently to justify the expenditure.

83 Government, Nelson Bay, Nsw
House For Lease – Leased

This two bedroom home needs to be inspected to be fully appreciated. It has been renovated to include top quality fittings throughout and has the added benefit of a large back deck and a fully enclosed back yard. The property also has a single lock up garage and lots of off street parking.

2/141 George, Salamander Bay, Nsw
Industrial/warehouse For Lease – $0

100 square meters industrial dwelling with street frontage onto busy George Road. The rent includes outgoings except for water usage and electricity.

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2/265 Sandy Point, Salamander Bay, Nsw
Retail For Lease

102 square metres of retail space in Port Stephens newest resort. The property has a store room, kitchen, toilet, reverse cycle air conditioning and a hot water service. The corner position fronting onto Sandy Point Road and Bagnall Beach Road offers excellent exposure. The landlord will pay for outgoings including exterior cleaning, garden maintenance, council rates, strata rates and land tax. The tenant will be required to pay for water service and electricity.

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3 Galoola, Nelson Bay, Nsw
House For Lease – Leased

Two bedroom family home with separate rumpus and bathroom downstairs. The property has an enclosed pool area, large living areas, spa bath and double garage with automatic opener.

93 Foreshore, Salamander Bay, Nsw
House For Lease – Withdrawn

If you are after a good old fashioned beach holiday for the family ‘Beached Inn’ is the perfect location!

Situated only a few steps to the waters edge at Salamander Bay is this spacious home that is perfect for your break.

The main living areas are facing the water along with the main bedroom. The family room is at the rear and the pool table will keep the children entertained!

Enjoy a BBQ on the deck enjoying the views over Port Stephens or relax inside in air conditioned comfort!

‘Beached Inn’ will be a favourite for holiday makers for years to come!

Sleeps 8 – 1 King, 2 Queens and 2 King Singles