It’s not a listed heritage home, but since its recent renovation, a 1920s brick bungalow in the Invercargill suburb of Strathern looks like it should be. In fact, its close proximity to historically significant homes (including a listed home locally called “the gingerbread house”) was one of the reasons Nicholas Irons purchased the property in the first place.

“Around the corner from this house are a number of houses that are heritage listed. The house looked very similar and I knew that it had a lot of potential.”

Irons (a joiner by trade) has a lot of experience in the Invercargill property game. He’s been investing and working on housing stock in the region for many years and knows a good deal when he sees one. When he discovered the rundown exposed brick three-bedroom home on the market for $159,000, he knew he’d uncovered a rough diamond.

After some fierce negotiations, Irons got the price down to $130,000.

“The owners had inherited some money and just wanted a quick sale,” he explains.

Irons has an interesting way of doing business these days. He purchases rundown homes on behalf of investors, does them up, then helps them sell – either sharing the profit or charging a fixed fee.

He sold the contract for this particular home to a client he’d worked with before, did the renovation, then facilitated the sale at the end of the process. It would prove a good deal for all involved.

While the home was rough around the edges (and the floors – some of them were missing) it had “good bones” and the potential to be a dramatic showpiece. With beautiful wooden joinery and attractive windows that are the hallmark of all bungalows from this era, it was just waiting for a little TLC.

But there were, undoubtedly, issues. The kitchen was (in Irons’ words) “an utter pile of garbage”. The bathroom was “pretty average” when compared with others Iron’s had worked on, but “absolutely disgusting” to someone not used to working with rundown homes.

The floors in the laundry were rotten and caved in, and some of the walls had fallen down. But the bedrooms were in good nick, the lounge was spacious, and there was a wraparound veranda outside that Irons knew would be a key selling point.

The home was purchased in May 2018, and the renovation had a budget of $61,000. Relining the lounge, laundry and bathroom was a priority. The lounge walls were scrim and not up to standard and the entire place needed to be rewired for electricity.

When the home was purchased the lounge was part way through fireplace reconstruction. While there was a consent for a new fireplace, Irons decided to change the consent, get rid of the fireplace and completely remove the wall that was behind it.

“There was a hot water cupboard in the wall space. We replaced the hot water with gas (which was attached outside) and removing the wall made the large lounge even bigger.”

The bathroom had contained a bath/ shower unit, toilet and vanity. Irons opted to remove all of these and replace them with a luxe shower unit that featured both a rain head shower and a wall shower head, contained within a glass shower with a sliding door.

“It ended up looking like a $6,000 shower, but I actually managed to only spend about $1,800 on it,” says Irons.

He also added a wall-hung toilet and double wall-hung vanities, with a glass fronted cabinet above. This increased the space in the bathroom, while maximising storage. All of this was sourced from Trade Depot in Auckland and shipped down to Invercargill.

‘Around the corner from this house are a number of houses that were heritage listed. This house looked very similar and I knew that it had a lot of potential’ NICHOLAS IRONS

The “utter pile of garbage” that doubled as a kitchen was a write-off. Instead of starting from scratch, Irons chose a prefabricated kitchen that was selling at retail for $35,000 at Ezy Kitchens in Invercargill.

Featuring a kitchen island measuring 3.8m in length, space for two stoves, a bar leaner and even a motorised television mount that would rise at the touch of a button, it’s an impressive piece of work. (Irons chose to remove the television mount from the kitchen cabinetry and it’s now located in the lounge.)

There were also fittings for a scullery, which Irons chose to use in the laundry.

This had been a problematic space (rotten floors, falling down walls) but now is a very user-friendly utility space.

The bedrooms weren’t a big issue; although already wallpapered, Irons chose to paint over this in Resene’s Pearl Lustre.

“We used this colour in the lounge and bathroom as well, and also painted some of the trims with this paint,” he explains.

But he chose to keep the wood exposed on some of the trims – both to save time on the renovation and to keep some of the home’s original character intact.

The carpet was also replaced throughout, with vinyl introduced in the bathroom.

The exterior of the home also needed repainting. For this Irons chose Resene Concrete, with sills and trims painted Steel Grey and the window frames Black White. Concrete was also used for the veranda.

Work on the exterior house was one of the most problematic areas of the renovation due to Invercargill’s notoriously challenging weather.

“We were painting outside in the freezing cold, using a diesel heater to dry the paint and keep us warm. The weather was so bad that it was the only way we could work,” he explains.

Inside, the installation of a Carrier heat pump (the largest model available) made working conditions a lot more pleasant. “It’s a great heat pump; it’s warmed up the entire house,” says Irons.

The renovation was finished in September and the house went to market through Southland Real Estate, and the home quickly attracted four offers. It quickly sold for $269,000 to a couple who now live there. This represented a profit of nearly $80,000 within four months.

Irons says that there are still good opportunities in Invercargill for savvy investors like him, who are prepared to put the hard work in.

“A lot of people just decide to sell their houses if they are getting a bit shabby and buy new ones, instead of getting them renovated. This means that you can still get good deals down here.”

Maximise The Value Of Your Renovation

Nicholas Irons made a profit of $78,000 in just four months. Here’s some tips on how you can make the most of your investment property when you come to sell.

• Know the local agents. Irons has years of experience in the Invercargill market and knows which agents have the best knowledge of different sectors of the market. Each agent will have different strengths and weaknesses, so if you plan to sell your renos, it makes sense to build a relationship with different real estate agencies.
• Good house, bad street. The home is located in an area that isn’t highly sought after in Invercargill, but is a great example of a home of its era and is likely to have niche appeal. If you find a house in a less-than-salubrious area that has potential, it’s likely to be affordable and prime for prettying up.
• Know the market. Even if you are new to the property game, there will be people in your area who understand where the market is going. Irons bought when the market in the Strathern was slow; since then prices have risen and Irons was able to sell when the market was on the up.