December 2023
December had some horrible weather for us! Floods, strong winds and early nights, it certainly wasn’t our friend for both of our development sites.
Work was slow throughout this month, and felt like much more of a snag than a month of progress.
We experienced a lot of illness throughout our workforce, coupled with the loss of family members causing some large delays on the projects. This is all part of property, and sometimes it feels like it can get a bit out of control, however there is always a solution to a problem, its just figuring that out!
Capel St Mary -
Everything was just about wrapped up now at this project. The tenancy agreement was all signed and the last few bits were completed. At least that’s what we had thought!
Property is never a straight forward journey and this property has been no exception! Just before the last few bits were completed we decided to test the heating system full to ensure that in the cold period, the tenant would be nice and warm. Unfortunately the heating system had been plumbed incorrectly by the first plumber and it meant there was no flow and return going to the front of the property.
After ripping up new carpets and cutting into the floorboards to find the issues, we had it resolved. All be it £1200 later, it was now fully working as intended. The largest lesson learnt here was that we cannot trust the word of the trades and must double check everything ourselves to ensure the quality control is as it should be.
A final clean, inventory and closing meter reads all took place this month. Along with a few snags regarding some final silicone and caulk in areas, and finally some touch ups where walls had been scuffed.
We have now finally moved out all our tools and this means that this house is now all up to date. Insurance, safety checks are all compliant for this property. This will now be a nice cash flowing asset for us moving forward.
I’m sure this won’t be the last you hear about this property as every property has its problems but for now this project is all wrapped up and done!
Foxhall Road -
Going into the new year we had the aim to be at least water tight. Unfortunately we are around 2/3 months behind schedule due to weather and health issues concerning the building team we are using. We are however now all water tight which is brilliant!
First fix is set to fully start on the 17th Jan 2024. Plastering is expected to be completed by the 1st / 2nd week of March and then 2nd fix can commence here on after.
The property is currently in a state which makes it seem extremely overwhelming when you walk in. There’s the garden to contend with, the floorboards to replace, walls still to come down and steels still to be installed (theses are considerably late). The job looks like a mess in person, but on paper it has a much clearer vision of what needs to be done.
We are estimated to fall slightly over budget on this project, and it is our job to try and reign this back in as much as possible. We have discussions with Howdens and some bathroom suppliers about the potential of getting some much needed discounts. We may have to cut back on tiling where possible, again to save the budget, however we also need to bare in mind the quality of the end finish.
There will br lots to talk about with this porject over the coming months, and lots of videos to be made on this property, so keep your eyes peeled for this one!
We wish everyone a happy new year and we are excited to hopefully share another 3/4 projects in 2024 with you on our journey to £10million!