Refurb help

JorgAlBear

I have found a fantastic house which I am thinking about buying. It is a probate sale and the house needs alot of work. It is structurally very sound, but needs a full rewire, installation of central heating and new boiler, two internal walls taken down and a complete redecorate / flooring. Oh, and the garden and driveway need an overhaul. All in all, everything needs some work! I am trying to decide whaether to emply a main contracter to oversee the work in the hope that I will get a better price if one person deals with all of the owrk, or whether I am better to employ separate tradesmen for each thing which needs done? I am thinking I need to set aside around £40k for the owrk (I am in Berkshire), does this sound realistic? Any advice would be lovely.

m_13

We're on our third probate property. The disadvantage of having almost no details on the solicitor's enquiries is more than made up for because there are usually no problems with the previous owner!

We've always used sub-contractors and managed the job ourselves as we've typically lived in the property. I'd much rather have full control of the person doing the work. My parents are having a nightmare at the moment with the electricians their builder sub-contracted to. As I pointed out to them, there's nothing they can do about the shoddy work other than complain to the builder.

Rewiring is much easier when you don't live there and we had this flat completely rewired and had new heating before we moved in. We also had the artexed ceilings skimmed as that's easier whilst empty too. I have lived in a house with walls being knocked down but an empty house is easier.

Much will depend on a) your confidence in dealing with different trades and b) your availability. If you can be there every day, are confident dealing with all different trades and are organised (to get the right people on site and the right materials and equipment there for them to work) then I think sub-contracting is far cheaper. If you don't have time, aren't organised and don't feel confident dealing with different trades then sub-contracting is likely to cost you more money as workmen still expect to be paid whilst they wait around for materials to turn up. If that's the case then hand over to a builder who has all the organising to do, but you will be paying him or her to do it.

I love project managing and also love a bargain (which is why I'm sleeping with a double oven, hob, extractor hood and bath and bath panel in my bedroom). However, go for high quality and a good job or you will lose on the price. Bad workmanship and skimping is no good for resale now or in the future.

Most trades who have worked for me are shocked when I produce detailed drawings, specifications, schedules and know exactly what I want. A woman who knows her mind, good grief! However, changing your mind usually costs money. They aren't keen on snagging/planning meetings every day on site at first but I've got another job to do and I can't be telling them where to put a plug socket every five minutes. Once they realise that knowing where we both stand makes it easier for everybody then they are usually OK. Nobody's refused to work for me again (yet).


Good luck if you decide to go ahead. The property market is a funny place at the moment so think carefully on the price you offer.

phill99

I run a Maintenance Company in Essex and m13 offers a lot of sound advice. the only thing I would flag up is Management thing is not for the faint hearted. If you are experienced, then it is fine. But people often think they can PM but cause a lot of problems. They often get Tradesmen in the wrong order and end up having to do work again, and therfore paying again. Additionally if you have a lead contractor, you only have one backside to kick. And if there is a problem he will get it sorted - you will have to deal with squabbles between tradesmen blaming each other. £40k is a lot of money and to have it poorly managed is something you will regret. Also in terms of budget always add 50% to what you think it will cost and add 100% to the time you think it will take!

JorgAlBear

Thanks for the replies guys. I have not had experience of PMing a full house refurb before, but I did run a loft conversion company for a couple of years, so I know how to deal with builders, and have a few contacts. I am a self employed mortgage adviser, so know the horrible state of the market at the moment and feel that we are getting a very good deal if we can get it for the price we want. I am confident that I can put budgets, plans and work schedules together, and can spend some time on site every day, so I think I will try to run the build myself. Fortunately we have six months left on the lease in our current home, so I have that time to get the sale completed and get the internal work finished before we move in. My budget of £40k already includes £10k for contingency, and if we can't complete everything within this budget then the garden and exterior work can wait a few months until we save up some more pennies. There is a very good cahnce I will be back with more questions!