Cowboy Builders

I love a good stereotype, I love playing up to a stereotype and I love to break a stereotype.

I have to confess that looking nothing like a stereotypical property developer has its good points.  I have what I call the 'Honesty Test' with potential tradespeople, where I play dumb and see if they give me a sensible quote and explanation of the job or try to take advantage of the 'dumb blonde'.  Its also quite good fun!!

I recently came across a shining example of 'the dumb blonde won't know that we are cutting corners' by a flooring company I was using for the first time.  I had spoken to various people at the company and was quite happy with them initially as they had a fair price and good knowledge, that was until the fitters turned up.  

They arrived to screed the concrete floor in the utility, their method was to pour a tub of "self levelling" screed near the middle and leave it for the weekend.  

So when they returned on Monday morning, I explained that they would be sorting it out immediately.....the responses...."thats how it should look", followed by "our trowels can't reach the sides", "you don't really need it to go to the edges" and something along the lines of "its level enough".  

"our trowels can't reach the sides"

"its level enough" 

- perhaps this photo doesn't quite do it justice but it really did resemble a solid model of a rough sea.

Funny how saving themselves about 30 minutes and £20 cost them a lot of potential future work.  I will always try my best to buy locally, but sometimes, local businesses just don't help themselves.

I'll never know if this was because they thought they could get away with it or because they genuinely thought it was acceptable, I can't help thinking it was because the 'dumb blonde' wouldn't notice and it meant getting home earlier on a Friday.

So the morals of this story are:

I'm blonde, not stupid

Support local, but only if they deserve your support

And avoid letting anyone do work on a Friday afternoon

Just a lick of paint

Well its been a busy couple of months, this bungalow renovation was finished last year but it's taken me until now to update the blog!

This has been a very frustrating project for a number of reasons, the main frustration is that it looks like its just had 'a lick of paint' not a lot of time, money and effort put in! A prime example of this 'lick of paint' is the lounge.

  

This is the lounge before and after, and I agree, on the surface it looks like not much has happened, but most of the walls have been back to brick, before being re-plastered, rewired, the radiator repositioned, decorated and a new fire and surround installed. Also, a new light fitting and new carpet (with underlay - no idea why people think its ok to lay a carpet without - but thats a rant for another time)

When this went on the market I had a couple come round to view it, pretending to be interested, who after about 5 minutes told me very bluntly that they knew how much I'd paid and were just looking for ideas so they could do the same "without the developer profit".  

Now I'm not a charity, but I'm also not, or likely to be, a millionaire!  I do a proper job, I don't cut corners and I will spend the money necessary to  do the job properly.  My properties won't start to fall apart in 6 months or a year, and I know that because I only buy quality materials and have professional tradesmen and that all comes at a price.  

I blame Homes Under the Hammer, now I love that show, but £5000 for a whole renovation?

 Buying a whole kitchen including appliances for £500? Really? Did it fall off the back of a lorry? Will it last longer than 10 minutes?

Thats before I start on legal fees, stamp duty, estate agent fees to sell it on, utilities, skips, insurance, the list goes on and on and amounts to thousands.

Beginnng to look a lot like christmas

Its Christmas Eve! Possibly my favourite day of the year, so I thought I would share some of my Christmas decorations.

Our first attempt at a house, we went with chocolate (I don't like gingerbread!) and I think it's pretty cute.  The white chocolate took a very long time to set, but we got there in the end.

I'd love to take credit for being an artistic genius but this was just a mould from Lakeland.

The rest of the decorations, I have a traditional red and gold tree in the main living room, a little hint of a Disney mouse, a purple and silver theme in the dining room and a glittery wreath on the front door.

All artificial, because I'm so soppy, I get emotional about the poor trees growing for so long to decorate my house for a month.  Plus, pre-lit trees save so much time and stress!

Merry Chirstmas!

How important is quality?

I am always willing to listen to advice, but there is one piece of advice which I have been ignoring. 

Using cheap kitchen, bathroom, fire and flooring in a project would of course save a lot on the budget, but would it sell as quickly?

I believe that in this market, where buyers have so many properties to pick from, that quality fittings are the difference between a quick sale and a property staying on the market.

The market I target is an older market who have probably owned a few properties over the years, and know what they are looking for.  I'm not saying that first time buyers aren't interested in quality but they possibly don't know what to look for, I know I didn't as a first time buyer.

I hate the thought of my buyer tearing out something that I put so much thought and money into, not just from a profit point of view but also because it is so painfully wasteful.

But am I being overly cautious? For example, I put in high efficiency gas fires (low bills) with slide controls (easier use) which both come at a premium, but is it worth it?

It certainly doesn't add value, but does it help to sell the properties, I think so.  

At the end of the day, I won't ever please everyone, but I feel like quality fittings show that the whole project has been done to a high standard.  If the kitchen isn't good quality, then what else might not have been done to a high standard?

Buy to Let v Buy to Sell

This is a topic that has been cropping up a lot for me lately.  I currently only buy to sell, I have rented properties in the past and found the income (or lack of) really didn't make up for the time and stress.  I think I might just have been unlucky with bad tenants and bad letting agents, but thats a post for another time when my blood pressure is lower!

As with anything there are pros and cons.  

For me, the pros are that I buy, I get in and renovate in usually 6 to 10 weeks (I'm a mum first and do this part time so it could be quicker) and then get it on the market. So far, I have always received offers within the first week of it being on the market, the problem is converting the offer into completion, but it always gets there in the end.

I have come across a problem where buyers struggle to get a mortgage because I have owned the property for less than 6 months.  However, there are some lenders who don't have this rule. (Yet another example of rules to make developing more difficult than it needs to be)

Both selling and renting have their financial risks, a rental income is not guaranteed, the cost of damage is unpredictable, but it is likely over a long term that the overall value of the property will increase.  With selling, its a quick turnaround for (in my case) a moderate income, where all the value comes from the purchase price and the work carried out, rather than the market.

At the moment, where being a mum is my priority, buying to sell is the right choice for me.  I choose 'low risk' properties where I am confident of a quick turnaround and a swift sale.  When my daughter is in school and I can dedicate more time to it I will take on higher risk projects, for higher return.  Buy to let would be too slow as an income at the moment, but ask me again in a few years!!

Wet room vs Bath room

I design bungalow interiors aimed at what I call a "retirement" market.  My typical client is a couple or single person whose children have moved out.  They want to downsize but do not have any major mobility issues at present.

Obviously for people with disabilities or who struggle with mobility a wet room is idea with no step to negotiate to access the shower.  But many people worry about the drainage, and that wet tiles under-foot might be slippery.  But then I know many older people who continue to use a bath.

As the majority of bungalows don't have the space for a wet room and separate bath, a decision has to be made.  

Does not having a bath decrease the value? There is something strange still about reading property particulars and reading "shower room" rather than "bath room".  Are people thinking forwards to a time when they will need easier access or are they thinking to the present?  From viewings that I have hosted, I have often found that buyers who want or need a wet room are willing to accept that they will have to adapt the bathroom at a later date.  Other people who maybe don't require the adaptations find them a little intimidating, as if they don't want to think about getting older and less mobile.

The solution I have found so far is to try to squeeze a bath and separate shower into my bungalows.  A bath can be 1500mm long rather than the standard 1700mm to save a bit of space, and as I tell my clients, it saves water and heating!  An 800X800mm shower is large enough that you don't bang your elbows but slightly larger is always a bonus.

Its amazing how moving the water tanks or boiler into the loft can allow the space for a shower without too much disruption.  I find that drawing the whole property in plan can help to show where the space might be found.

I think that if there absolutely wasn't space for both, I would go for a bath with shower over but keep the decor simple so that it feels like it would be easy to convert.

A mysterious pink stain

I was recently called by a lady who had bought a property I had redeveloped to ask for my assistance.  

She had noticed a mysterious pink stain had appeared on the cream wallpaper, my first thought was some sort of brick dust stain which I have seen before.  When I went to see for myself, the stain was near to the top of the wall in a few blotches and bright pink. Highlighter pink!

I called in my decorator who was also confused, after lots of scratching of heads we decided the only answer was to peel off the wallpaper to see what was going on.  

Underneath the paper was a small isolated damp patch which had reacted with the paper turning it this bright pink colour.  I always keep spare wallpaper for such an event so we treated the area (which had now dried) and replaced the paper. Good as new.

I have noticed on some of the spare paper that where patches had been in contact with water they had also turned pink or purple.  Clearly some sort of reaction with the vinyl paper, but definitely a new one to see such a bright stain on cream paper.  I would expect damp to show as brown.

I might be giving that brand of wallpaper a miss from now on.  Imagine spilling a drink near the wall!!