We bought at a great price, and a great location. 30 mins from the beach, 1 hour from a major city, a great house at the end of a cul-de-sac with great potential to add value. We did about $50,000.00 worth of rehab to the property.

The biggest value-add component was converted the large shed to a secondary dwelling. This was a long process but well worth it in the end!

We undertook this project as a joint venture with family.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

My wife and I had been renting the property for 3 years. We knew the owners were selling their other properties and we made them an offer. We knew we would be able to add more value to the property through strategic rehabs.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I called the owners (who were our landlords at the time) and made an offer. It was below market value but it meant they could sell it easily to people who would love the property without involving an agent.

How did you finance this deal?

My wife and I got the mortgage in our name. My in-laws put 20% down and we shared the cost of the rehab. We undertook this project like a joint venture. My wife and I qualified for first home buyer subsidies which significantly reduced our closing costs. I was able to negotiate a deal below market value and our in-laws were able to provide the capital we did not have available.

How did you add value to the deal?

We converted the large shed into a secondary dwelling/granny flat. This added the most value to the property. We also strategically rehabbed parts of the main house. This was done so that we could focus on the areas that needed some TLC while not over-investing our capital.

What was the outcome?

We sold in an incredibly hot market and were offered $80,000.00 above our list price within the first week of it being on the market.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The 2 biggest challenges were the secondary dwelling certification and the buyers. The certification process was much more involved than what I expected. We fell through the cracks with private certifiers we engaged. This meant that we were told for months that the certification process was underway, but a week before we listed the property, a site inspection reveled otherwise. The buyers were not easy-going and made the entire process very painful.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes, we worked with Dan Clarke whose team specialises in the Beerwah, Glasshouse Mountains region. He was an absolute gun and I could not recommend him highly enough.