I added $950,000 of value to an old Aussie property in less than six months – these are my secrets to the ‘perfect flip’ in 2024

A dilapidated brown brick house from the 1970s has been transformed into a picturesque Hamptons-style oasis – and it took less than six months to achieve the impressive result.

Chris Bye, 44, who became a carpenter, bought the Central Coast property in January 2023 for $725,000 and sold it five and a half months later for $1.675 million.

The original three-bedroom, one-bathroom cottage on 556 square meters of land was gutted inside and out to make room for an additional bedroom and bathroom.

Sir. Bye that leads Flipping Homes Australiasaid of the $950,000 in revenue, $288,000 of the cash was pure profit as it cost $688,000 to renovate.

He’s now on a mission to educate other Australians about the hard work and money involved in house flipping.

Sir. Bye has been renovating houses for the past ten years and flipping them for the past four and a half. He says on average it takes his team of 15 people five months to complete the process.

‘Before I started, I had always wanted to get into flipping houses. “Home design and architecture is my passion, as are renovations – I live and breathe it,” he told FEMAIL.

‘I love buying a tired, run-down property and turning it into something modern. The properties we buy most people would never set foot in.

‘This 1970s house we bought for our recent reno was in great disrepair and hadn’t been touched in decades. It still had the original kitchen, carpets, curtains… everything!’

Sir. Bye said by renovating older properties, he ‘saves them from being bought and torn down’ by investors or corporations.

The classic 1970s style radiated throughout the one-story house with yellow walls, small tiles in the bathroom, a green kitchen and large backyard.

Now the house has an open-plan living and dining room, six skylights to welcome in the sun, a gorgeous freestanding bath and an outdoor deck area.

The master bedroom has its own bathroom and there is also a separate sitting room at the front of the house.

Sir. Bye warned that the process of flipping houses can be “very stressful” as there is “a lot of money and risk involved”, but “everything is calculated”.

“We follow a very strict process to find the right property, make sure it’s below market value and plan exactly what we need to do in advance,” he said.

He never buys properties at market value because it is ‘too risky’ after allocating all the extra costs involved.

“We always want to make sure we find a property that is suitable for a renovation to add value to it,” he said.

When Mr. Bye searches for properties to renovate – a process that can often take months – he looks to see if another bedroom and bathroom can be added, as these increase the value the most.

‘I like to buy properties from the 1970s to the mid-1990s. Quite often what these houses will have is a formal lounge or dining room,’ he said.

‘People don’t want more small rooms in houses anymore – they want open-plan layouts. So the formal dining room tends to be changed into a second bedroom.

He is also looking for ‘huge, unnecessary’ laundry to be turned into an extra bathroom.

As for other advice, he said to ‘prepare, plan and look after your mental health’.

With each house flip, Mr. Bye and his team dealt with unforeseen challenges – from water damage, plumbing and electrical problems to a rotten substructure.

But he said it is ‘inevitable’ to run into problems when turning over old homes.

‘Be sure to invest in yourself first by researching the process. Use social media, start following people and just be aware that this is not an overnight process, Mr Bye said.

Sir. Bye has also launched a ‘guide to flipping homes’ to outline the costs and work involved in flipping houses.

‘I want people to be armed with all that knowledge before they get started. There’s a lot of work that went on behind the scenes and if it’s done wrong, you might not make money,’ he warned.

The course consists of 18 chapters and 80 videos that explain everything from how to budget with a ‘master spreadsheet’, hidden costs to be aware of and tax fees.

It’s perfect for beginners looking to update a small space to those confident enough to tackle a full home renovation.