# 05 - How a $7,000 Reno Added Over $100,000 in Equity
There are loads of renovation jobs you could do to your investment property. But one stands head and shoulders above the rest — the one that delivers the highest ROI.
Adding a bedroom. Or even better, multiple bedrooms.
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I recently helped a client turn a 3-bedroom house into a 4-bedroom. The property sits in a student zone, where each bedroom pulls $200/week in rent. A few days of work from the reno team added $10,400 a year in rent, and over $100,000 in capital value — all for $7,000.
Yes — $7,000 to build, plaster, paint and run new electrics created a $10,400 annual rent increase. That's a 148% return, with their money back in 35 weeks. Everything after that is pure profit.
On top of that — a $100,000 lift in the overall property value.
OK great, so why don't we just do this to every rental?
Well, if it were that simple, everyone would be doing it. (Actually, even if it was that simple, most still wouldn't.)
Not every property is laid out in a way that adding a bedroom will work. The game here is finding the right property — one where you can add a bedroom without major work.
The Plan
The house was your standard 3-bed, 1-bath, 2 living-area, 140m² property. Plenty of square metreage for a 4th bedroom, and more importantly, the layout made it an easy job.
A simple new wall build, swapping an existing external door for an opening window, and adding a new light. All non-consentable work, all done in under 10 days.
The Outcome
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$200/week extra rent — $10,400 a year
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$7,000 spend, 148% return, paid back in 35 weeks
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$100,000+ added to the overall property value
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10 days of work, start to finish
Can this work for me?
The added-bedroom play is a key part of almost every project I do. It works for quick flips and long-term holds. It hits on both sides - rental yield and capital growth.
But it doesn't suit every property. You need the surplus square metres and a layout that works. You don't want to be shifting three walls, moving a kitchen and changing a window just to squeeze in a bedroom.
Some Trade Me listings have a floorplan attached , a great visual guide. Otherwise, walk through with fresh eyes, or sketch the basic layout to see where an extra room could slot in.
The easy way to do this
This is the kind of outcome my property finding service, Seek & Find, is built to deliver.
I source properties with the bones for exactly this play — the surplus square metreage, the layout that allows a low-cost bedroom add, the suburbs where the rent uplift actually lands.
Here's how it works:
- I find the property
- I help you buy it
- I hand you the reno blueprint that turns it into a cashflow machine with a big equity bump
This isn't theory — it's how the $7,000 / $100,000 deal above came together.
If you want me to find one for you, reply to this email. Tell me what you're after and I'll take it from there.
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