Australia’s Rapid Renovation Expert, Naomi Findlay, gets interviewed by SkyNews.
Interviewer 1: If you are interested in renovating property for profit, our next guest is a woman you need to speak to. Naomi Findlay is a ‘Rapid Renovation Expert’ and was voted ‘Top 5 Home Stylist in the World’ in the U.S. She joins us now to talk about how to get the most out of your renovations and to explain the ins and outs of Space Medicine. Naomi, welcome!
Interviewer 2: Is this Apollo 13 sort of floating around?
Naomi: No. Not at all. It’s actually quite ‘earthy.’ ‘Space Medicine’ is what I determined to be – it’s a combination of some really hardcore academic genres like ontological design, bay biology and environmental psychology. See? That’s exactly right! People roll their eyes and say, “Really? How can I get that in my house?”
Interviewer 2: Ontological, is that ants?
Naomi: No. Ontological design. So, what I’ve noticed is there is so much literature around the concept that the way that we surround ourselves like the light, colour, our spatial alignment, that actually affects us on a cellular level. So, it affects the way our physiology works, our brain chemistry, temperature, heart rate, all of that. And then when you connect the dots, there are evidence to show that all of that affects our creativity, our productivity, our ability to build relationships. There is a huge research link between literally the hand guys. We’re creating these spaces that determines how we interact, how we live in them. And there are even some evidence to show that it increases our well-being over 15%.
Interviewer: Oh my gosh.
Noami: It’s huge.
Interviewer 2: It sounds very scientific but we sense that anyway, didn’t we to some extent?
Naomi: Yes.
Interviewer 2: Living in a cave is not happy. Living in a place with windows is happy.
Naomi: Yes. And you know, there were some great research that showed – there was a massive study, a full on double-blinded study that showed that people that had surgery that were exposed to views, same operation, same hospital, same surgeon that were exposed to a view were actually discharged from the hospital a day earlier.
Interviewer 1: Wow!
Naomi: Yes. So, it has a physiological effect on your body.
Interviewer 2: That make sense to me. I can feel it.
Naomi: Exactly.
Interviewer 1: Wow! So, where do you start if you’re trying to get this?
Naomi: Great question! So, there are four main principles that I use to help people connect with houses and the reason why I use them in renovation is it actually connects with buyers, valuers and people that are looking to tenant a property without them even knowing. You know, when you go into the house that is teeming with space medicine, you can’t help but to feel connected. It’s a primitive reaction. So, the best place to start is connecting space with nature. That is number 1 principle. There are many but that is the number 1 principle. If you connect your space with nature, that is the first big step to incorporating space medicine.
Interviewer 2: So, like light within the window?
Naomi: Yes. You can go big, you can go I’m going to knock out a wall or put in a big set of windows or some people for example if you are living in a unit, you don’t have that choice, right? So, it’s about using textures in your property.
Interviewer 1: Natural sort of textures? So, even in sort of flooring –
Naomi: Yes. And it doesn’t have to be in your styling. So, within natural woven rugs, or your cushions. It’s also about patterns. And also about, they call it recurring fractals, it’s what you see in nature when you see a view.
Interviewer: That’s just way too smart for me. I’m sorry I have to let you down.
Naomi: You’re out, are you?
Interviewer: What? Okay sure.
Naomi: You can even do that big bang finishes you know.
Interviewer: So, this is wood, obviously.
Naomi: Timbers are huge and so timbers in your kitchen finishes, in your vanity, in your bathroom, or even you think one of the most amazing natural things we have is stone. And so the natural recurring patterns and waves that happen in a marble. There are a lot of beautiful floor marble tiles right now, you don’t even have to go real.
Interviewer: So, that does trick us to think it’s really marble? So, we trick our brain.
Naomi: We’re tricking our senses. Absolutely.
Interviewer 2: Very well put. A few weeks ago, I’m putting plants in the shower. I have to tell you, I have loved every plants in the shower.
Naomi: That’s huge. Plants in bedrooms. And you know what? Even if you can’t go real which is obviously the best, go for it.
Interviewer 1: And it’s still enough?
Naomi: Absolutely. Or even creating a view. If you live in a place that has really tight fences, you can always insert a screen if you don’t have a view and create a view for yourself.
Interviewer 1: It’s Space Medicine. There is science to it.
Naomi: There is a whole world. But I would like to do with Space Medicine is convert into a way that people don’t go, “Oh my gosh, I’m out.” You know, when I said, ontological design and bay biology, you were like you were ready to wheel off stage I tell you. So, it’s about breaking it down into a way that everyday people can introduce it into their homes. They can feel better, they can create renovations for people to make them feel better. It’s a win-win.
Interviewer 2: So, do you judge if you’ve won by how you feel? Is that –
Naomi: Well, when you’re doing renovation for profit, you judge if you win by pay.
Interviewer 2: Exactly. Let’s take it back to the important stuff which is the dollar sign.
Interviewer 1: Yes. Your Rapid Renovation Formula. Let’s talk about this. So, tell us about it.
Naomi: I’ve been renovating for a long time and I’m onto my 114th. I’m hunting for it right now. So, watch out, I’m hunting. I realized after 6 or 5 renovations, there is actually a pattern to this. There is actually a formula. You know, you see rainbows, the rainbow renovators I call them. They might get 1 or 2 and smash out decent profit but if you’re going to make a consistent income out of this, it’s just like a business. There is a formula, there is a system, and if you have the right ingredients and the right recipe, you can get the same result every time.
Interviewer 1: This is one that you’ve done?
Naomi: This is one that we have styled just recently.
Interviewer 1: Right.
Naomi: And that’s part of it as well.
Interviewer 1: Fantastic.
Interviewer 2: It seems that if it was my sick brain goes. It seems pretty easy surely for what she was doing. You must do it.
Naomi: You know what? It isn’t easy.
Interviewer 2: Exactly.
Naomi: Correct. There are so many places that you can lose money renovating and it’s about having the right formula because with no formula, just scientific, man, we are being scientific today, we have a formula –
Interviewer 2: That’s why I’m wearing my white –
Naomi: I’m missing one. When you have a formula, if you input the data, you will get the right results each and every time. So, when you have a formula that you follow, you never undertake renovation unless you know prior to actually doing it, then it’s going to be profitable for you. And it’s not buy a house and work out whether I can make it profitable.
Interviewer: So, if you buy for like 700, you know you’re going to spend a million on it, will you get a resale value of 1.7?
Naomi: Yes, absolutely. And there are so many factors that go into it. So, where do you buy? Our country is full of micro markets. Like Sydney is a totally different market to Armadale.
Interviewer: Within Sydney?
Naomi: Exactly. There are so many different pockets within Sydney. There are so many different pockets that allow for different opportunity. So, the biggest case about renovating for profit are setting up your foundations. You don’t go wiggly-wobbly looking for a house. You find a patch based on the specific data that you know is going to fruit property for you. And not just one rainbow renovation. You want to be fruiting like when you’re doing it to create wealth and to create the lifestyle and the profit that you want, you’re going to repeat that renovation time and time again in that patch. So, it’s really important that when you’re deciding on the patch, use really analytical techniques to determine them. So, there are 12 key indicators that I use when I’m looking for where I renovate and it’s a full analysis of those indicators that ends up fruiting for you where is best to look. And one of people’s biggest mistake is not doing that.
Interviewer 2: With the market calling of it, which it is, does that change your equation?
Naomi: No. Absolutely not. One of the biggest keys in renovating is looking for properties that I am able to add value to and know how to add value to it without spending a fortune. That’s one of the biggest keys.
Interviewer 1: But kitchens and bathrooms are obviously the one that people look for when buying but they cost so much money.
Naomi: If you don’t do them right, yes. If you went to a mainstream supplier, when knocked out my kitchen, knocked out my bathroom, they could absolutely cost you fortune. But it’s about how to view a space, break a space down, know what to do to individual elements to make sure that you hit your market because you never want to go over or undercapitalized. Nothing is worse than undercapitalized. That’s actually worse than overcapitalizing.
Interviewer 2: You’ve got a course, book, website, we need to come to you to find out how to do it?
Naomi: Absolutely. You can jump on to my website: naomifindlay.com and there is a pile of information there about our Rapid Renovation Formula. I tour around the country, speaking at an event, you can find out about that from the website as well.
Interviewer 2: She’s going to be boring if you watch her speak. You should be doing an hour sell round.
Naomi: An hour sell round?
Interviewer 2: You will just be fantastic –
Naomi: I do have a lot of fun on stage actually. It is a lot of fun. Very interesting, very fast-paced and loads of information. All the things that you need to be doing. I want people that when they come and see me, I want them to take away actionable steps.
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