Layers of old wallpaper and an unexpected leak in the bathroom with some rot didn’t stop the winner of a TV renovation show from transforming a “pretty nasty” South Auckland home into a stylish pad in just a month.
Jono Frankle, who triumphed in the first season of TVNZ reality show Our First Home, picked up the three-bedroom house at 35 Waimate Street, in Otara, at auction on May 16 for $591,000 – well below its 2021 CV of $870,000.
Now, after a comprehensive but speedy makeover, the property is back on the market for sale on July 5, with Ray White listing agents Tom McCartney and Hayley McAlister.
Frankle, who has about a dozen renovations under his belt, told OneRoof the ex-rental was in a bad way when he first got his hands on it. Even the professional staging couldn’t hide the stained and smelly purple carpets and marked walls, he said.
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He got to work quickly, securing early access to the house two days after winning the auction. He soon had builders onsite ripping out the basic kitchen and the bathroom, which had a peach vanity and broken tiles.
The builders also removed a large fireplace to open up the kitchen and living area and make room for a breakfast bar, with Frankle replacing it with a heat pump.
One of the entrances from the toilet to the kitchen was blocked off and the other entrance via the bathroom was widened to create one combined toilet and bathroom area. Some rotten wood caused by a leak in the bath was also replaced.
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While the demolition work was being carried out, a team of painters tackled the multiple layers of wallpaper in the bedrooms and lounge.
The builders left within a couple of days after replacing the GIB, but the painters and plasterers stayed for the duration, painting everything from the walls, ceilings, roof, wooden joinery, fences, and garage.
“The plasterers and painters – that was one company – they were the first ones onsite and the last ones to leave because basically it was a massive painting and plastering job,” Frankle said.
The painters were carefully moved from inside to outside work so they could work around a total of 20 tradespeople who played a part in the 30-day transformation.
Frankle said: “The key to being able to get it done in a month was making sure we had a schedule and understanding when everybody needed to be in and booking things like carpets and flooring ahead of time.”
On the first day, Frankle was busy ordering everything from a bathroom vanity, carpets, flooring and kitchen appliances to booking in other tradies including the electrician and plumber.
His wife Karen, who also took part in Our First Home, along with her parents Tom and Robyn Schreuder in 2015, took on the role of designing the kitchen online from Cabjaks to make sure it arrived in time.
Before: The original living room was dated and the purple carpet was smelly. Photo / Supplied
After: Frankle removed the fireplace and knocked down a wall to install a breakfast bar. Photo / Supplied
Frankle stuck to his proven formula and ordered the same carpet, floating laminate flooring, appliances and ready-made blinds and curtains he had used for a property in nearby Antrim Crescent, which he bought in December for $530,000 and flipped in March for $735,000.
However, that renovation took longer than Frankle’s usual three-to-five-week turnaround because it fell over the Christmas break. The 35 Waimate Street makeover was completed in a month, with half the renovation already done before the property settled in early June.
Frankle told OneRoof earlier this year that some renovations can cost up to $100,000 and while he was unable to give the exact figure on the Waimate Street renovation at this stage, he said it was more than what he spent on the Antrim Crescent house.
However, he is expecting Waimate Street to sell for a higher price because it’s in a better location, being close to Clover Park, and has a better layout.
Jono Frankle: "Everyone thinks with property trading that there are huge profit margins, but there are a lot of expenses." Photo / Supplied
“The feedback has been amazing after the first open home – really positive feedback so we are looking forward to seeing what homeowners see the value of this property as,” he said.
“Part of our whole mantra is producing a product that people can fall in love with so part of that as well is they can’t have a building report done and it comes up with all these issues. So sometimes the budget will blow out as you need to fix these things so you are putting the best product forward.”
All his homes are also renovated up to the Healthy Homes Standards.
And while he admits to often eating into his contingency budget, he said it was important not to get carried away. “It’s really easy to overspend and get really emotional on some of the decisions, but you need to make the decision logically for the area and for who is going to be looking to buy your property and you will find you get the best results for the budget.”
Even if the sale price comes in around several hundred thousand dollars above what he paid, Frankle said there were a lot of costs involved before they split the profit.
“Everyone thinks with property trading that there are huge profit margins, but there are a lot of expenses, and a lot of time and effort that goes into buying the properties,” he said, noting he had attended about 20 auctions in the last three months.
“The profit margin once you take into account your taxes, your GST, your reno costs, your tradies, your time. Yes, it’s a good way to make a living and creating beautiful products for homeowners, but there’s a lot of expenses in it, and also there’s risk associated with it as well.”
Frankle already has his next renovation on a two-bedroom unit on Willoughby Avenue in Howick underway and said it’s “more of an emotional” project. Not only is it one he’s doing with just his wife and father-in-law, just like on Our First Home, but it’s also in his own neighbourhood.
And once that’s completed in about four weeks, a house in Manurewa will have settled and will be ready for the next makeover as part of another joint venture arrangement.
Magic makeover: 35 Waimate Street before and after
Before: The original bathroom was smaller, tiles were cracked and the floor had rotted due to a leaky bath. Photo / Supplied
After: Frankle's team opened up the bathroom and replaced the flooring, toilet, vanity and bath. Photo / Supplied
Before: The original bedroom decor was drab and the walls sported layers of wallpaper. Photo / Supplied
After: Frankle stripped back the walls, gave them a bright clean finish and put down new carpet. Photo / Supplied
Before: The original kitchen was poky and quite basic. Photo / Supplied
After: Frankle ordered new kitchen units and appliances. All of it was done within the space of a month. Photo / Supplied
Before: The house had been a rental before Frankle picked it up at auction in May. Photo / Supplied
After: Frankle renovated the house to make it a dream home for a first-time buyer. Photo / Supplied
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