With the Morrison Government’s Home Builder initiative, a $668 million plan from the Property Council of Australia as part of its seven-point plan to the National Cabinet for starting up construction again and boosting the economy. Though many people are jumping on this as a chance to secure their first home, there are a great many of us that are more inclined to utilise this opportunity to invest in improving the value of the home we currently live in.
In these current times, we can sometimes feel unsure about whether spending such a large amount of money is the ‘safe’ option. We can then begin to question, when will we be given this kind of opportunity to take advantage of such a grant again? Primarily, the most vital goal that anyone should want to achieve with any renovation, is to assess if the work will in fact be a good investment that can help to increase the value of the home and/or the value of your lifestyle. For some, heading into retirement and planning to downsize is a cause to want to enhance the value of their home preparing for sale. For others, a growing family can require the need for additional space meaning that the plan to renovate and/or extend the home would have been coming in the future anyway. Then there are some well loved old homes that are just in the perfect place but just need that something extra to bring them back to life.
As exciting as this all can be we do need to be aware that are some restrictions to the grant. For renovations, you will need to spend more than $150,000 (making it $125,000 of your own money). The building works must improve the livability, accessibility or safety of your home. This means there will no grants given for the building of pools, spas, tennis courts, garages or sheds. In addition to the grant motivating the movement of the economy, there is also the hope that these renovations will motivate owners to make their homes more resilient to natural disasters and allow families to have space for growing.
When considering what renovations are best for your home, it can be beneficial to research the local property market and assess the cost of houses compared to you own home so to determine what additional features can increase the value of your own home. It is worthwhile to investigate what kind of value one extra bathroom or bedroom can do to impact the value. Then there is the aesthetics of the property. Are the facades outdated? Do they show signs of age or damage? Can the installation of a better wall system not only improve the appearance of the house but also improve insulation therefore reducing energy costs and better protection from adverse weather? Installing skylights can also become a value-added investment that can reduce energy costs. Sometimes these changes can really go a long way. Even if you are not planning to sell and intend to stay, you will still get the benefit of enjoying these renovations to your home.
Do keep in mind that the grant is only available for a limited time, it will be available to all who are eligible who sign their contract for works before 31st December 2020. All works must commence within 3 months of signing the building contract. If you are considering to take advantage of the grant and would like us to help you, get in touch with us today.