This snippet is from one of our previous episodes: Tips from Three Birds Renovations on How to Create the Perfect Renovation, Survive It, and See a Return on Investment!

When you’re renovating, it’s easy to look at three quotes and feel your eyes drift straight to the cheapest one.

Because surely cheaper means smarter, right?

But as Three Birds Renovations share in this Throwback Tuesday episode, the cheapest quote can sometimes become the most expensive lesson.

From the landscaper who delivered what looked more like dead shallots than street appeal, to the now-legendary Dusty Derek, the plasterer who was still covered in dust six weeks later, this conversation is a hilarious reminder that cutting costs in the wrong places can cost you more in the long run.

More time. More stress. More rework. And more “what have we done?” moments.

And when you’re trying to renovate for profit, lifestyle, or long-term value, those hidden costs matter.

So consider this your reminder to slow down before saying yes to the cheapest quote. Because yes, it might save you money upfront. But if you end up with dead shallots in the garden and Dusty Derek still sanding six weeks later, it might not feel so cheap after all.

Planning a renovation, upgrade or your next property move?

Before you jump into the cheapest quote or make a big property decision, it helps to understand the bigger picture.

Our Property Wealth Planning team at Empower Wealth can help you model your cashflow, sense-check your next step, and create a personalised plan to help you reach your next major property goal.

Start with a free, no-obligation 15-minute chat with our team to see if we can help.

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Transcript

Three Birds Renovations
There was uncertainty with the trades as to whether we knew what we were talking about. And in the early stages, we didn’t. I think that’s the key: being really open and honest with them and saying, “Look, I’m not quite sure.” But then there’s a flip side where I understand why people would be really hesitant to do that, because they feel like they’re then going to get screwed by the trade. It’s a real balance of being able to manage a situation. And the key to obviously not getting screwed is to get three or four quotes. I think you should treat the trades as you want them to treat you: with respect, kindness and courtesy. And we have not had an issue.

Ben Kingsley
How many have you sacked on the journey?

Three Birds Renovations
The first landscaper, he was about 12. I don’t know if he was underage or child labour.

Ben Kingsley
So his quote was good?

Three Birds Renovations
He was the cheapest. And we’ll teach you in Reno School that when you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. And this poor landscaper, God love him. Apparently, he had finished the landscaping job, and I came out to the front garden expecting something quite impressive. Something that was going to wow the buyer, oozing street appeal. And it looked like some onion weeds, or some leek or something that had gone off in your kitchen, had actually been put into the ground. I took a photo and sent it to Bonnie, who was actually holidaying in Byron Bay at the time. We were just trying to finish our first ever reno. She was in Byron Bay with, wait for it, Erin.

Ben Kingsley
That’ll serve you for your husband not doing any of the heavy lifting earlier on.

Three Birds Renovations
Right! So I sent a picture to the girls and said to Bonnie, because I had no idea, “Is this the way the garden bed should look?” And Bonnie got on the phone and said, “No, there is absolutely nothing there.” So I had to tell this landscaper. I said, “There doesn’t seem to be enough plants here. In fact, they look like dead shallots. Okay, you’ve planted shallots. Could we somehow get something that’s upright?” And he sort of looked and said, “I don’t think there’s money in the budget for that.” And I said, “You did quote on a garden. That’s not a garden.” So I had to go back and basically say, “You’ve got to put this here, put that there.” But that just didn’t work out. We’ve since got great landscapers that we’ve used in a lot of properties. We’ve done so many now that we’ve got a great team that we work with.

And then there was Dusty Derek. Oh, Dusty Derek.

Again, we went for price. This was house number two. He quoted on doing the gyprocking. Gyprocking and plasterboarding need multiple hands. It’s heavy stuff. Bonnie’s brother is actually good at that as a trade, and Bonnie said to her brother, “Look, this one guy has given us a great quote.” And her brother was like, “I don’t know how one guy can get it done in that time and for that price.” And we said, “But Derek said he could.” Six weeks later, Derek is covered in dust. Ten foot. You almost can’t see him. He’s like the snowman. And he’s sleeping overnight. We think he stayed there a few nights. We don’t know that for sure.

Ben Kingsley
Definitely unconfirmed, because it would be an occupation hazard!

Three Birds Renovations
Well, Bonnie let Derek go. Then we called in a crack squad of gyprockers. Seriously, a van came down the road and opened up like a bank robbery. Six gyprockers jumped out and ran into the house. The car hadn’t even stopped.

Bryce Holdaway
Did you catch it on film? Where was the GoPro?

Three Birds Renovations
No! They ran into the house, and by the time we got to the front door, they had finished sanding the whole house and left. And that’s how you do it. They were amazing. So we learnt from that. The other point I want to make is that a lot of people are daunted, or think they have to do tasks DIY. Meaning they have to paint themselves. They have to do things themselves to save money and get a result. You don’t. The truth is, we lean on experts, professionals and trades to do the work. That’s the reason we get through the workload we do and do what we do. Because if it were up to us to actually be doing the literal heavy lifting, painting ceilings and painting walls, it would be upsetting, tiring and exhausting. And it would take a very long time. That’s why some people’s renos never finish.

Bryce Holdaway
Then you’d be on the Channel 9 series.

Three Birds Renovations
Exactly! And that’s not fun. You see what happens. It’s very stressful, and that’s just not the life we wanted to be part of. So the one thing I’d say to your listeners is: don’t feel that you have to do that to get a great, profitable result for either your home or an investment property. Lean on people and pay people to do it. Get three quotes. Still manage your budget tightly, but don’t run around trying to DIY everything because you’ll burn out, you’ll burn through your money anyway, it’ll take too long, and you’ll never get to enjoy the property.

Bryce Holdaway
So is there anything within the building project that you do outside of your core competencies?

Three Birds Renovations
No, we hired professionals for everything. We did lay turf the first time. Again, when these two girls were in Byron sunning themselves, I laid 40 square metres on my own in 40-degree heat. And in our first flips, we were taking flyscreens off ourselves. I bought a drill. I don’t think we ever used it after the first house. But to go back a little step, I think if there’s anything you can do, it would be planting a plant. Landscaping. Softscaping. My husband planted however many plants here, and it saved us a lot of money. Definitely, softscaping is something you can do.

And I think the one other thing where you can get involved and save a bit of money is sourcing and buying your own fixtures and fittings. That’s certainly something with flipping that I would encourage doing. Shop around with your trades. If you’re getting your tiling done, get your quotes and get your tilers in, but shop around for all your tiles, your grout, your taps, your bath, everything like that. That’s where you can really get your hands dirty. But as far as being on site and doing the work, leave it to the experts where you can.

Bryce Holdaway
Good tip then.

Ben Kingsley
Great tip.