What to know before accessing the HomeBuilder scheme

In a recent episode of The Smart Property Investment Show, Streamline Property’s Scott and Melinda Jennison told potential stimulus recipients that the scheme will create opportunities for investors to improve their property.

“There’s opportunities especially in the Brisbane area. You can buy properties fairly close to the CBD under that price range and add value with the renovation,” Mr Jennison said.

The scheme, which is targeting larger repairs over cosmetic changes to property, is targeting structural changes.

“People think renovations are cheap. A lot of people are very surprised when we tell them it’s probably cheaper to build new than renovate.

“So you can chew into a lot of money when you start renovating. But if you can get it up to $150,000, you can get a new kitchen for $25,000,” Mr Jennison said.

Investors are also being told they can potentially benefit from the scheme if they find an ideal location but not the ideal property.

“I think it’s a clever strategy to buy something you can knock down and rebuild. If you’re an owner-occupier, you could benefit,” Ms Jennison said.

However, Ms Jennison also cautioned first home buyers not to spend money purely to get a rebate.

“The issue I think will be where people spend this money just because of the government rebate and potentially overcapitalise,” Ms Jennison said.

“I think that is the danger when the government releases these sort of stimulus packages. People shouldn’t spend money just because they can.”

“It really needs to be part of an overall plan to ensure that you're not overcapitalising because if you spend that money because the government is going to give you a $25,000 rebate and you have to sell in two or three years time and you’ve overcapitalised, you may not get that money back.

“So it could all work against you,” Ms Jennison concluded.