i love bamboo, giant bird of paradise etc but do NOT put next to your pool. In our last build we used Zanadu. Big leaves that do not drop and bullet proof. Perhaps find another way to cover the fence other than plants that almost always drop their leave and have invasive roots.

As you are only looking for ideas perhaps a starting point would be a modern, square style of entrance that you could get ideas from. I couldn't find what I wanted exactly for a photo, but I think if you took points from this photo and adjust to your budget it might suit?? Eg. I think if you can get a nice wide door with a bit of glass on either side, it would really present well. Raising the height of the concrete at the front door with decking tiles or stone tiles depending on your style could really enhance. Concrete pavers you could even make yourself! They can be smaller or larger and if scaled right to the proportions of the house can make it a little more formal. As you have the driveway on the side, I would put a screen on the left and emphasise the left column making a feature of it as in the picture. The column on the right does not align with the entrance, I would not emphasise that column? But perhaps hard to gauge from one photo. If you went for wood this might be an idea.

If it’s possible to move the toilet I would put it in the corner where the shower is now, large vanity single or double in the place of the toilet and double shower instead of existing vanity across the whole wall. I hope you can picture it. Some people here might be able to do the design I am not that smart.

As a former renter, this was the exact property I would usually rent. Good functional condition, not my style but who cares? I never even inspected the all white and engineered benchtop places as a few visits usually revealed the renovations to be somewhat shabby, the places to be incredibly small and not good value for money at all. I always rented outdated properties as I typically got more space and better terms than places where landlords were desperately trying to recoup renovation costs. You're going to demolish the place so why spend any money on it? Changing out the flooring and even painting the cupboards and swapping out appliances will cost you thousands to get done and then what? Are you really going to reap x2 x3 times that expense in one years rent? I doubt it. First of all, I would have the place appraised for rental return in it's current state. And then appraised for rental return if it were tweaked. You will most likely find that any renovation will take years to recover the costs and actually make anymore than renting it out as is. For reference I was a long term tenant in all the places I rented, no I didn't leave rubbish around anywhere or have burnt out cars in my driveway. I left each property scrupulously clean, even having the existing curtains or blinds professionally cleaned and carpets professionally cleaned on exit. I just preferred value for money in rentals because I was saving to own my own home. Good tenants don't necessarily need renovated places to rent. Tenants are always constrained by their income, they can't afford to spend over 30% of it on rent alone no matter how nice. We have lives to live too.