For that lick of paint: Cost guide to give your investment property a makeover

Investors wanting bang for their buck when remodeling their investment property ought to paint the place to get the cheapest of makeovers.

Interior painting of the walls and ceilings of a two-bedroom apartment come in at $1,500, according to the Australian Services Buyers Guide 2012.

The guide by ServiceSeeking.com.au gives customers an idea of how much money home renovation costs to possibly avoid overpriced quotes from tradespeople.

The guide offers pricing for the measured completion of tasks ranging from interior painting to plumbing, the most expensive of tasks.

Exterior painting comes in first place for the cheapest trade service, with an average quote of $40 per hour including paint.

Interior painting is slightly more expensive than exterior painting, with an average quote of painting the walls and ceilings of a two-bedroom apartment being $1,500.

The walls of a small two-bedroom unit could cost as little as $430.

An average job for exterior painting includes the painting of a 24-square-metre deck and awning and has quote price of $1,200.

Interior painting could cost $4,700 for the painting of a four-bedroom townhouse with its exterior painting possibly costing $3,300.

According to the guide, NSW offers the best bang for a buck, with the cheapest quotes from painters. 

Victorians on average pay $400 more per task than their NSW counterparts, with prices starting at $1,700 for a one-bedroom apartment.

The Sunshine Coast is the most expensive, with painting a one-bedroom apartment costing $1,870, however a job with three bedrooms will get you a better deal.

Quotes are generally consistent among states, however for a more precise quote, you simply need to write a job description and sit back and wait for the quotes to roll in.

Tiling ties with painting for the cheapest service, with customers paying an average of $40 per square metre excluding materials.

The minimum job quoted for tiling a small outdoor area of six square metres was $250.

The tiling of a 20-square-metre outdoor balcony area is listed as an average job with a likely quote of $500.

The tiling rates in New South Wales are 5% more than the national average of $40 per square metre, and Victorians can expect to pay $45, an increase of 12.5%.

However, the guide says that New South Wales and Victoria property owners pay less than Queenslanders when charged by task.

The third cheapest service is plastering, with an average cost of $45 per hour.

The minimum plastering job quoted in the service guide was for the repair of a ceiling and cost $150.

A plastering job of two plasterboard walls and one ceiling could cost $500.

The plastering of walls and ceilings in two rooms comes with a $2,000 price tag.

Carpenters are the third most expensive, with an average price of $50 per hour, excluding materials.

A job of building and installing a linen cupboard could cost on average $700.

The second most expensive service is electrical, which has an average cost of $65 per hour.

The minimum quoted price was $65 for residential electrical wiring.

Four light fittings and the replacement of switches and power points could cost you on average $300.

The maximum quote recorded by ServiceSeeking.com.au was $1,200 and was for the installation of four fans, 12 lights and powerpoints.

Victorians pay 40% less when it comes to appliance installation.

The most expensive general trade service is plumbing, with an average of $70 per hour.

A minor bathroom shower tap job could start from $80.

The installation of a new stove with gas fitting could cost you $400.

A larger job of installing gas pipes for heating, hot water and an oven can cost up to $1,000, the average quoted price.

Victorians can expect to pay 10% more for a plumber, paying on average $77 an hour.

New South Wales and Queensland are 7.1% below the national average of $70 an hour.

According to the 2010 Australian Services Buyers Guide, the average hourly rate was $66 although the average job price has come back.

The inclusion of details and prices that were charged for some recent jobs give consumers an idea of how much they should be paying for similar work.

“Our Australian Services Buyer’s Guide 2012 saves Australian renovators from the risk of overpaying. It’s going to change the way people renovate their homes – they won’t want to commit to a quote without consulting the guide first,” says Jeremy Levitt, co-founder of ServiceSeeking.com.au.

ServiceSeeking.com.au has helped over 500,000 customers get quotes from 65,000 businesses.

The data in the guide is based on the analysis of over 700,000 quotes submitted by Australian local businesses through ServiceSeeking.com.au over the past year.

ServiceSeeking.com.au is Australia’s largest marketplace for local services, and allows people to post job descriptions that they need done on the website.

The Australian Services Buyer’s Guide 2012 is available for purchase on Amazon for $9.95.

Sections of the guide can also be viewed on ServiceSeeking.com.au’s blog.