We have a similar home in a sydney beach suburb. We are in a different position where we have bought ours as a downsized but are just about to restore the old 50s beauty to its former self. We have quotes of around $400000 to gut and change the floor plan which includes 2 bathrooms and a new kitchen and also add internal stairs to the garage and a large deck off the back, lift some ceilings and replace gutters, eaves ect ect ect. Attached are my inspiration boards and what the house looks like now, hopefully in about 4 months I can update you.

@fianou, Thank you for your kind words, I agree it's coming along, although not everyone knows that we've been building this home for 8 years now, using only our own money as humble farmers!!! We live in a tiny but comfortable7 square, (roughly) relocatable home and I personally can't wait to get into my new home with all the room and room to put everything in it's place!!! Right now all my posessions are boxed or wraped and in storage in various locations here on the property like our woolshed and an old caravan, as well as things stored in my mother's home a few kms away and with the home having just been sold, means I will have to move this furniture here and add to the mountain of things already in storage!! I'm sorry to say and hope I don't offend, that I don't have an affinity with hanging pots and plants and hubby would literally "cringe" at the thought of growing a vine up our new posts ha-ha I have got a pair of large pots either side of the front door , visible in the photo, housing Wisteria's that I hope to be able to keep tamed and they shoud look lovely when in flower. I originally planned to have about 20 standard roses along the front of the home but they are too much work I've decided and more often than not look quite shabby at certain times, especially when they are dormant, so instead, I have decided to plant several standard grevilleas in a nice stone mulch with a brick border as is the rest of my garden for easy mowing. I actually have quite a large garden but mulch is definitely the way to go and I have used a few different types of stone mulch, as well as tree mulch and woodchips and this reduces my weeding workload, the bain of all gardeners. I'm almost 60 and want to enjoy my home and garden but do not want it to become a burden but should I ever consider a hanging basket, perhaps indoors, I will be reminded of you!!! ha-ha Cheers, Barbara

If those prices don't include the electrician's costs of connection then to me they don't match up and I'd say your supplier/installer can't do maths lol. Pricing will change between supplier and of course electricians, and of course I'm working off the impression that the floors are flat where you want it installed. If the quote includes the electrical work, as in it covers everything besides tiling to where you can switch it on, then it looks reasonable to me and sits around the ballpark of what we paid. With the electrician's connection costs included then the figures match up better between the bathrooms and the living area, looking at it from a total per m2 viewpoint. If it includes the floor covering as well, then I'd say get on the phone and book the job straight away before they realise their mistake lmao. For instance if the quote is just for material and install, without electrical connection then the two bathrooms are quoted at $166.66 per m2 and the living area is quoted at $53.57 per m2. A large difference at cost per m2. If however the quotes include the electrical connection then you can average out the m2 cost across all three rooms and it amounts to $73.53 per m2. The electrician would be charging the same price for connection of each room (with only minor differences) if there is nothing out of the ordinary in any room. That means it's a static cost in each room that could make the bathroom quotes look inflated, and the living room look on the cheaper side. When you have a m2 quote on something across multiple rooms of different sizes, it's important to factor in anything outside of materials that's included in the quote. Assuming the install could be considered standard (whether it be underfloor heating, tiling, carpet, etc.) there will be other costs involved such as labour hours, wiring connection, installation materials, etc. Some can be considered static such as the electrician installing a single thermostat in each room, whatever actual size that room may be. Others will be more fluid such as labour hours for the tradesmen doing the install - will take a lot longer to lay tiles in a room of 56m2 than it will to lay them in a room 6m2. Whenever you are given a quote involving installations by m2, it's important to get them to detail what exactly is included in the quote. If you don't do this you run the chance of ripping yourself off. Let's say you get 3 different quotes from underfloor heating suppliers who all give you different prices but without details. One may look more expensive than the other two but actually be cheaper overall due to including everything up to 'turn on' phase, where the other two may only include supplying and laying the underfloor heating with you having to organise your own electrician after install.

e just cleaned a house for a deceased estate - a small clinker brick one of a pair on a busy road - a recluse who'd lived on his own for 35 years....you can imagine! The family had to pull out the kitchen totally and install a new toilet....!! Four skips later...you get the idea. After the muck was gone and the place vacuumed and cleaned as much as possible it looked - well it looked what it was, a renovators' opportunity (good spaces and excellent flow, with a tiny yard and off street parking. A tram stop at the door. The family wanted venetians cleaned, walls washed and so on - they were making the mistake of thinking it was their own house, not, to be harsh perhaps, of selling an asset which will be someone else's opportunity whether it's to gut and renovate, or demolish and rebuild. So similarly to your mum's, where do you start and finish? As others have said, declutter (which you will have to do at some stage anyway) clean as best you can, and leave the opportunity for others to make their mark. And you know what - despite spending money on it, you'll probably not make a scrap of difference to the sale price. Best of luck