A GRAND OLD DAME GETS A MIGHTY MAKEOVER
AFTER
When Reno School student Tabitha Hobbins first spotted this character-filled 1920s home in Northern NSW, she saw the kind of reno opportunity that makes a flipper's heart beat a little faster.
The worst house in the best street? Tick.
A motivated seller? Tick.
Original charm? Big tick.
A rare double lock-up garage underneath? Huge tick.
And then there was the bay window.
“I fell in love with the gorgeous bay window... It’s now home to a beautiful window seat.”
But, like many old homes, this one came with a few surprises. The property had been seriously neglected, the floorboards had absorbed more than their fair share of history, and the layout was quirky to say the least.
Tabitha nicknamed the project Mighty Mouse – inspired by the small but mighty cartoon hero and a nod to the termite damage that turned out to be far less scary (and less expensive) than many buyers feared. “It actually worked in my favour,” she laughs. “The termite damage turned other buyers off, but it only caused a little bit of structural damage and cost around $3,000 to fix.”
Mighty Mouse was Tabitha's fifth flip and her second in 2025. She's now renovating house number ten, so it's safe to say she knows her way around a reno site. We caught up with Tabitha to talk numbers, old-house surprises, budget lessons and how this beautiful old dame found her second life.
FIRST THINGS FIRST, WHAT MADE YOU BUY MIGHTY MOUSE?
It was pretty much love at first sight for me. My investor and I picked it up for a bargain price from a very motivated seller. It was the classic worst house in the best street, which is always what you're looking for with a flip. I loved the bay window, the double lock-up garage underneath and the fact that it had so much period charm.
The house had definitely been neglected. It had been lived in by someone who used it as his personal urinal, so the smell had soaked right into the floorboards. It was eye-watering! But I could see past that. I just thought, "This is a gorgeous old dame of a house." It had so much potential.
WHAT WAS YOUR VISION FOR THE RENO?
My philosophy is always: do as little as possible and as much as necessary. I love old homes, so I didn't want to strip away the character. I wanted to stay true to the vintage of the house but still give it that fresh, light, Three Birds-inspired feel. I also wanted to ensure the house was appealing to buyers with families, so introducing a second bathroom was important, and ensuring the floor plan made sense and had good flow was also a priority.
WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHANGES YOU MADE?
We bought Mighty Mouse as a four-bedroom, one-bathroom home and sold it as a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home. One of the biggest changes was turning the upstairs laundry and shower into an ensuite for the back bedroom. This turned out to be a much bigger (and more expensive) job than anticipated.
This project is the result of lots of small changes that, when put together, had big impact. The layout was full of quirks and dealing with this required a lot of imagination and problem solving. For example, the original kitchen was a small square room with four walls and four doorways. Four doorways!! So we blocked off one kitchen doorway and moved another about a metre to make room for the fridge. We also transformed a useless internal hallway by extending the existing small bathroom into that space. The goal was to make the house work for modern family life without losing the charm that made it special.
and where did you HOLD BACK?
We kept the original built-in cupboard in the entry, even though the doors are super wonky. That's all part of the charm, right? We also kept the enormous antique wood-burning stove. It's not exactly practical in a modern kitchen, but I didn't want to mess with the heritage of the house.
At least it can be used as food prep space!
On the ground floor where there are three large storage rooms off the garage, we left things as is. While it was tempting to create a fifth bedroom or a teenagers retreat or even a self-contained flat in this section of the house, we knew that doing so would be over-capitalising.
LET'S TALK BUDGET. DID YOU keep it in check?
This project really taught me how important it is to be specific with your budget, especially when you're renovating old homes. You don't always know what you're going to find until you start pulling things apart, and tradies don't always like quoting on old houses for that reason. We did go over the intended renovation budget, largely due to the blow out in plumbing costs. However this was, fortunately, recouped in the sale of the house.
WHERE DID THE BIGGEST BUDGET PRESSURE COME FROM?
Plumbing and carpentry were the big ones. I had to work with the town's most expensive plumber because there was a shortage of available plumbers, so there wasn't any competition. The plumbing bill ended up being around $25,000, which I've since been told was an exorbitant amount.
This was the first time I'd put a brand-new toilet into a room that hadn't had one before (the old laundry that we transformed into an ensuite). I didn't realise how expensive it would be to run plumbing to a space that didn't already have it. To move a toilet around a little isn't too expensive, but the length of the plumbing pipes is where the cost comes in, and in this instance considerable pipework was required.
Now I know exactly how much extra to allow in the budget if I ever do that again.
WHAT WERE YOUR SMARTEST SAVINGS?
The kitchen was definitely one of my best savings. I used Kaboodle, and it's basically the same kitchen I've done for the last three houses. I love that the kitchen is light and bright and the finishes feel timeless, which is important in a classic house like this one. I was able to recycle some tiles from previous reno jobs which kept costs down too.
For the kitchen, I budgeted around $13,000 all up, including about $7,000 for cabinetry and benchtops, $2,500 for plumbing, $1,500 for electrical and $2,000 for installation. I don't do fancy benchtops because in this market the ROI just isn’t there.
I used a capable handyman at $35 per hour to do the demolition works, which was a great saving in comparison to employing a carpenter to do this work.
Another win was finding a local builder with a tonne of experience to replace the three rotted beams holding the house up. That cost about $7,000, which was around a third of what I had expected to pay.
WHAT DID THE ENSUITE COST?
This room came in at around $12,000 which was, in hindsight, a good result given the plumbing costs were so much higher than expected.
It already had a shower and laundry tub, but no toilet. The end cost included around $7,000 for plumbing, $2,000 for tiling, $500 for the toilet, $500 for the shower screen, $500 for the vanity, $400 for the shaving cabinet and about $1,000 for electrical.
It was absolutely worth doing because it took the house from one bathroom to two, but it was also a big lesson in how expensive new plumbing lines can be.
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM RENO SCHOOL THAT REALLY STUCK?
The best thing I learned from Reno School was how to talk to tradies, how much supervision is needed and how to ask the right questions. You need to be super specific with your instructions because everyone interprets things differently. On this project, I was using a brand-new carpenter. I'd been using another builder who was quite particular, but he disappeared, so I had to find someone new. The new carpenter said all the right things and his hourly rate seemed reasonable, but he wasn't efficient.
My advice now would be: avoid having a brand-new tradie you haven't worked with before on hourly rates. If you do work with someone new, preferably work with them on a fixed price or quote.
Another key learning is to be more detailed with your budget. Reno School teaches you to drill right down into the numbers, and Erin is so specific with how she budgets. That's something I really appreciate now.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?
Bringing this beautiful old character home back to life. It was purchased by a young first-home-owner couple who absolutely fell in love with it, and that makes all the work worthwhile. It's also in my neighbourhood, so I still walk or drive past it regularly. Every time I see it, I feel proud of the transformation.
“I feel proud of the transformation.”
TABITHA'S TOP BUDGET TAKEAWAY
Don't fall in love with the charm before you've checked the numbers. Old homes can be beautiful, quirky and full of personality, but they can also hide expensive surprises. A detailed budget, realistic contingency and clear trade agreements can make all the difference.
WHERE CAN WE FOLLOW YOU?
Instagram: @tabflipshouses
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