If you’re smart about the refurbishment, the answer is yes, says renovation strategist Rachael Uí Bhaoill of Spreag. She runs the numbers on a three-bedroom semi in Clondalkin, Dublin 22.
Renovation costs have become untenable.
Instead of trying to find a builder, certain homes can be contemporarised by employing direct labour, says Rachael Uí Bhaoill of Spreag.
Earlier in her career, she was head of advice at AIB Life, where she managed the team that advised AIB's wealthiest clients.
Before that, she managed the wealth customers across AIB Dublin, including at AIB Clondalkin, for a considerable time.
This gives her a degree of insight into the area that many new to the neighbourhood may not have.
As a certified financial planner, she is not interested in sending money for the sake of spending money.
“I hate waste,” she says. “I hate unnecessary upgrades. And I certainly don't believe that spending more money automatically gives you a better result. I‘m trained to have every euro working as hard as possible.”
Address: 67 Saint John's Park East, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, D22 X4E2
Asking price: €390,000
Agents: Hibernian Auctioneers
She set up Spreag, a renovation strategy service, to help homeowners avoid costly renovation mistakes and get the home they want for the least cost.
Her financially-focused advice can save clients thousands in unnecessary spending and years of additional mortgage repayments.
Having worked in Clondalkin for years, she’s a big fan.
“The village itself is one of the prettiest villages in County Dublin. You only have to take a wander through the village to see the beautiful round tower, all the flower boxes and independent shops. It has a real community feel to it.”
She also notes that the village is one of the very few designated Irish Language Networks outside of the Gaeltacht.
“The Irish language is everywhere here, with school options from Naíonraí, through primary and Gaelcholáistí.
"You only have to look at my surname to realise I have a real grá for the language, so I feel this is another wonderful reason to consider buying in Clondalkin.”
The village is just six and a half miles from Dublin city centre and has good transport links, such as the Red Cow Luas, rail and bus routes, all within easy reach.
A stone's throw away is the completely refurbished Liffey Valley Shopping Centre.
Add in strong Government investment, and she says Clondalkin “is getting a little bit vibey”.
The home that caught her eye is one built in the 1980s.
Number 67 Saint John’s Park East is a three-bed semi seeking €390,000 through Hibernian Auctioneers.
Extending to 92 square metres with a Ber pending, the house is of a vintage that is more cost-effective to renovate than older, heritage-style homes.
The electrics, plumbing and roof look good, she says.
“That's exactly what I like to see because it means you're spending money on improvements people can actually see and enjoy, rather than pouring money into hidden problems.”
She has mapped out the areas to concentrate on below. Her comments, suggestions and costs are based on employing trades on a direct labour basis.
This means finding and employing a plumber, an electrician and a carpenter directly and independently of each other, mapping out the timelines and ensuring they come back on the days that they promised they would.
It’s an approach that absolutely makes sense if you can find and manage such talent.
“A builder will add on 20 per cent to 40 per cent of a project management fee. He won't negotiate with the electrician,” she explains.
“He won't negotiate with the plumber. He'll simply take them at their word and then charge you for the pleasure. This is definitely not renovating smarter.”
The roof
The first thing she encourages buyers to do is look at the roof. The roof on this one looks great, she says.
“If the roof doesn't need doing, you're straight away putting €20,000 to €30,000 back into your arse pocket.”
The windows
She believes that the windows and front door are the face of the house. “If they look tired, the whole house looks tired.
These windows look okay, but also a little dated. If it was me buying it, I'd either replace the windows altogether or paint them a charcoal black colour to match the plinth at the bottom of the house.
That alone would make a huge difference aesthetically and drag the exterior of the property forward 30 years without spending a fortune. I’d also completely rip out the porch, replace the front door and add toughened reeded glass to the side window.
Kitchen
This should be redone entirely, she says.
For less than €10,000 you’ll get a design with cupboards on the bottom and sleeper shelves above, similar enough to a house she’s just sale agreed on Barrack Street in Co. Waterford.
There is scope to rework the space so it has a better flow. The utility room is small. So too is the kitchen.
By knocking one into the other, you will make the space feel much bigger. It looks like a small stud wall to take out, not a major job. Minimal spend, maximum difference.
Front exterior
Remove the ramp, the back door and window, and install something a little more aesthetically pleasing, such as double doors or a slider.
The bathrooms
These are dated and need upgrading, she says.
“New sanitary ware and tiles will be transformative; they’re very small money to buy.”
She tends to tile the shower and bath areas only and then plaster the rest of the walls so you can hang art and make the room feel a lot more upmarket for minimal money.
She feels tiling the entire bathroom can make it look behind the times.
Joinery
By changing the second fix joinery, the doors, architraves (door surrounds) and skirting boards. It would comtemporarise the interior. It will cost about €5,000,
The stairs are also dated. Adding some spindles or a half-stud wall on the landing would modernise the balustrade.
The floors
She suggests reflooring the entire property.
Garden
There is great potential here, starting with the grass, which looks great and can cost a fortune to replace.
By reconfiguring the cute little shed at the back, so that it runs right across the entire back wall, you get a better shaped space that has multiple uses, a garden room cum playroom, cum home office.
You could add a bit of character by removing the stone flower bed, rough limewashing the walls and adding fencing to both sides for extra privacy.
The cost
Expect to spend somewhere between €52,000 and €57,000 to deliver a totally contemporary look to the inside of the house.
With instant access to her own team of trades, she feels confident she could probably do the work for less than €50,000.
“Those with less building expertise may not be able to bring it in for the same monies, unless they have professional guidance.”
The outside space is harder to cost, but €20,000 on a direct labour basis would be transformative.
The Renovation Strategist Rachel Uí Bhaoill runs Spreag, which offers masterclasses on what to look out for when buying a house that needs some work. Its next masterclass takes place on Wednesday, July 29th.
