She Renovates

Rising interest rates don’t automatically mean the market will come to a halt. It has been a long time since we had an interest rate hike, and it’s quite a shock. However, you do have to wonder what it means for renovators. Rising interest rates can be devastating. But, like most things, it depends on how you view it. So, in this episode of She Renovates,  Bernadette brings some perspective t...

In this episode of She Renovates, Bernadette Janson spoke to John Lindeman. He has been in the property investment business for a long time and has a wealth of knowledge on the subject. This has made him one of Australia's leading property market analysts, renowned as the property market researcher that experts go to for all their Australian housing market insights. John is a popular contributor t...

Bernadette spoke to Prue Muirhead, a true rock star in the property industry. She is well known in the media and investment industry, being the winner of an Australian Property Investor of the Year award. She also lectured in property investment and management at TAFE, South Australia, for ten years. Prue holds an extensive positive cash flow property portfolio with her husband, Andy. They run the...

50 is a magic number if you want to transform your life with renovating if my experience is anything to go by. In this episode of She Renovates I will be telling you why you need to be thinking about this and what steps you need to take to step into action. If you have the reno gene, this is for you. Our tribe absolutely thrives on the process of searching for a property, deciding what direction t...

“Hillary Saxton is a go-getter. She is determined and tenacious. She has a strong desire to empower all people, but mostly women to realize that they can dream and have whatever they want. It doesn't matter where you come from, what matters is where you want to go.” This is how Hilary describes herself in my interview with her. She works with people in property and business to help them formulate...

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: [01:11] Every single woman has a goal. [03:13] It’s not just about the big wins. [04:25] Money's not everything, but it's right up there with oxygen [04:25] Get a decent income to support your borrowing capacity [07:13] The total profit of Wonder Women for 2021 [09:27] Interest rates are moving up. [10:50] Historic house renovation in the regional New South Wales. [13:30] The c...

Renovating is addictive! It is easy to get sucked into the vortex of your current project with tunnel vision that can make it difficult to look towards the future. As a result, I have seen a lot of people spend a large portion of their prime years trying to build up a portfolio so they can give up their day jobs, with very little success. They lacked a future-proofing strategy. I don’t want you to...

Have you always dreamed of being a professional renovator? Are you wondering how to go from being a hobby renovator to renovating for profit? If you are not in love with your job, or you are looking for a way to increase, or replace your income and quit your day job, renovating can allow you to take control of your income-earning capacity. At The School Of Renovating we mentor women who often fall...

Katrina Lumsden has a strong passion for real estate. She has a new big goal: to buy, renovate and design a hotel in a cool holiday property. Think Palm Springs meets coastal luxe. Styling for holiday accommodation is Katrina’s superpower. She has a business called Studio Haven which you can find on Instagram ( @studiohaven_au ). Working with holiday homeowners to elevate and transform their homes...

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: [01:28] Why renovate your own home? [02:37] When renovating your family home the tendency to overspend is strong. [03:03] Is the family home an asset? [06:48] Get a local real estate agent to give you feedback. [09:03] What your renovated property will be worth? [09:08] Work out the value of the renovated property. [10:15] You can add 100,000 - 500,000 if you do the right renov...

“There's a lot to see and do just within the house itself, that’s been a deliberate setup is creating this experience of something quite different and trying to create that feel that sense of wow when people arrive at the house.” -Trevor Salmon EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: [03:09] How did Trevor come by Maggies at Trentham? [07:13] What was the source of the concept? [11:42] How long did the renovation tak...

Foong Koh Buckland joined Michelle and me to talk about her journey from being a pharmacist to renovating for profit. She is super driven, loads of fun and lives in Adelaide. Foong owns a successful business named after her sons, BenJon. Foong chatted to us about how she came to be a full-time renovator, completely replacing her income as a pharmacist in four years. We talked about how she manages...

This week we have something very special for you. About a year ago I invited Liz Raad to talk about renovating websites. I have been interested in this strategy for quite some time, for a couple of reasons one is because it's about digital, and digital is definitely very current and loaded with opportunities. And the second reason is that it's at such a low price point and as opposed to property....

Your mindset in the business of renovation determines how successful you will be in making a profit. Doing the courses and learning the skills required to get the job done are important, but unless you can translate your knowledge into an action plan, you are not going to change your life. I spoke to Michelle Lewis, our renovation and mindset coach, about the value of mindset in renovating. She be...

Renovating for profit can be stressful. A lot of things can and do go wrong. Lucy is one of our rising stars whose renovating journey started by accident. She renovated her own home, fell in love with renovating, and sold her home in order to start building up a property portfolio. She said: “Renovating your own home is an awesome way to start because it's safe and you can take your time with it.”...

Penelope Valentine from Property Alchemy joined me to talk about investing in property. Penelope and her partner, Belinda, are particularly skilled at managing investment properties. After you purchase an investment property and add value to it through renovation, it is important that it generates wealth over time. Penelope and belinda are both long-term property investors and understand the value...

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: [01:09] Make the painter the last trade in your program [02:17] Start your landscaping early in your project [03:35] You will need to clean your property several times [5:14]  Give yourself enough time to enjoy the renovation process [06:04 ] Good lists will help you to delegate tasks [07:04] The two main ways of doing styling [10:00] Brief your photographer to highlight y...

A renovation scope of work is an essential tool for restoration project management. If you want to improve your home, here are some techniques and concrete ideas to give you an edge. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: [1:34] New feature release: What’s Your Reno Question? [3:30] What is the renovation scope of work? [4:25] Importance of the scope work checklist [6:09] Three main sections to the renovation scope...

Do you manage your own projects or do you prefer to work with a project manager? The role of a project manager in a renovation is often poorly understood. I was talking to Ruth Newman during the class project about the fact that many of her clients choose to project manage their own renovations. It is an area in which our businesses overlap, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk to...

We put out the call to see who would be interested in contributing and getting involved in a renovation that we paid for in cash. Out of twenty applicants we ended up with a team of fourteen wonderful, dedicated team members who all pulled their weight. It was a project full of challenges - some due to the pandemic but others were simply examples of the things that can, and do, go wrong during a r...

Jo shared some interesting insights with me about the past and the future of the property market in Australia. She talked about the changes we’ve seen in selling and buying properties during COVID and what she predicts for 2022. She shares some valuable information for those who are looking to invest in property this year. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: [02:44] Property market in 2021 was incredibly competit...

Have you considered installing underfloor heating in your renovation, but thought it was too expensive to install and costly to run? I am guilty of having some preconceived ideas about underfloor heating. That is why I invited Luke Chant from Hotwire Heating to chat to me about the ins and outs of underfloor heating. He talked me through what underfloor heating actually is; how much it costs to in...

If you follow our She Renovates podcast you will be familiar with the strategy we came up with to give our children a leg up in the property market without giving them handouts – The Avocado Smash Strategy. We pool our resources with each of our kids, do a renovation together and split the profits. Mary Nieuwland has used The Avocado Smash strategy to help her daughter, Layla, break into the prope...

At The School of Renovating our focus is to uplift women through our Wonder Women program to become stellar renovators. I recently chatted to one of our Wonder Women, Nicole, and her husband and partner, Jay. I have the pleasure of sharing with you that they have successfully completed their first for-profit ‘team renovation’ in Wollongong. It is inspiring to see their success working as a team! O...

A good handyman can make your job so much easier. He has a critical role to play in your renovation project. You need someone who is reliable, time-efficient, cost-effective and has a great attitude. I learn something from every renovating project I do. In the job I have just completed, The Newcastle Project, I learned the true value of having a good handyman. In this case we had problems nailing...