The first time I bought a property, it happened to be a renovated unit. The owner sold it because he was moving out to stay at the upper floor of his newly bought shop-house. He has extended the bathroom in the master bedroom which meant that I saved many thousands of ringgit in advance. My first condo in the Klang Valley was in Kelana Jaya and it was also a renovated unit. The kitchen was fully renovated with kitchen cabinets and I think I saved many thousands of ringgit just for that cabinet alone. So, yes, when it comes to secondary units, I prefer to buy renovated units. Below are some reasons I love them.
WE SAVE MONEY. Typically, an extended bathroom so that it’s bigger and more comfortable would have been many thousands of ringgit. A kitchen cabinet of 10 feet alone would have been a few thousands too. Some may have electrical cooker and hob built into them and these are again, thousands of ringgit depending on the brand. Curtain railings done meant a savings of a few hundred ringgit and we just need to get the measurement to do new curtains. That still good looking and comfortable sofa set would also be a savings of a few thousands too.
WE SAVE TIME. A friend just said that all the renovation timelines given by the contractor is never accurate. It’s usually off by a couple of weeks. (I think it also depends very much on whether the owner decides to change this and that half way too…) Anyway, typical renovations may take 1 – 2 months. Very extensive ones will take longer yeah.
However, it’s not just the duration of the renovation which is long. It will also mean we needed to occasionally drive over and check the work progress and this also takes away our precious time as well. Might as well use those extra time for a dinner with family instead? Or to bring the kids to the playground instead? Lots of things to do versus just driving over and checking progress…
It’s not all good with renovated units. Usually, the renovated units have a higher price versus the non-renovated ones. Just remember that just because you have spent RM100,000 in renovations does not mean that you can sell the unit at RM100,000 higher in the future yeah. It’s usually a loss because the new buyer may not have the same taste as you or they pretend they do not like your renovations. Haha.
What if you really and totally dislike the renovations? Move on to the next unit lah. Surely it’s better to buy an empty unit then. If you want to renovate the unit to your highest satisfaction, its best to get an empty unit and start everything from scratch. Depending on how you do it, it’s really possible to reduce the overall expenses to a minimum. Time and effort must still be spent though unless we have a contractor who knows our wants and needs very well. Happy buying a renovated unit or if you are getting an empty unit, then happy renovating.
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