The first thing we’ll do when it comes to refurbishments for clients at Rocket is make sure that it is worth spending the money on a refurbishment.
We won’t just go ahead with a refurbishment if it doesn’t make financial sense, as if there’s one thing we avoid at all costs at Rocket, it’s wasting money for our clients.
For example, we’ve recently done an analysis for a client whose property hasn’t been refurbished for more than 20 years, but for the time being, they’re still receiving good rent at around £4000 per month.
With that being said, we predict that over the next few years it could become more difficult to let, with the rent potentially dropping up to £600 per month and it will become more costly to manage due to added maintenance expenses.
To counteract this, we have suggested some works that once completed, should see the rent rise by £200 per month, which is a potential swing of £800 per month for the landlord, so it’s definitely worth doing.
As for what we provide at Rocket as part of our refurbishment service, we essentially act as a project manager, which includes deciding if the refurbishment is necessary, putting together a specification of works and managing the contractors.
If we decide a refurbishment is necessary and the client agrees, the first step is identifying what specialist consultants we need onboard, whether it’s a surveyor, someone to deal with asbestos, a structural engineer, or whoever it might be.
Then it might also be necessary to conduct a site investigation, as well as getting consent from the freeholder and building regulations approval.
From there we put together a specification of works for the client that outlines how the project will be executed and it includes costs and time-scale.
We then select a contractor and manage them, doing regular inspections of the property, while providing updates to the landlord.
At the end of the project, we prepare a handover plan with the certification of everything and this is all done electronically, so it’s easy for the landlord to access.
From here, we stay on until the end of the defects period and we hold back a percentage of the contractor’s fee to ensure they return and make repairs should there be any issues.
The biggest selling point of our refurbishment service is de-risking the project for our clients.
This is particularly useful for our overseas landlords, who would otherwise have to liaise directly with the contractor and rely on them to finish the project within the budget and on time, but we take that responsibility on for them.
We can also guarantee the track record of our contractors, as we have worked with them for years and we provide them with enough work to make sure they stay busy and this creates loyalty along with solvency for the contractor.
This was something I had to learn the hard way, as I once had a contractor go bust midway through a £150,000 project I was having done personally. It’s difficult to find contractors who will take up a project halfway, so I ended up having to start from scratch and it cost 50% more. As such, I’m very keen to reduce the risk for our landlords at Rocket so they do not have to deal with this themselves.
As for our track record, the RICS guidance suggests surveyors should complete works within 10% of the budget quoted. At Rocket, we usually give ourselves a contingency of around 2-3%, and rarely exceed this contingency, and more often than not we come in on or under budget.
In terms of time-scale, we have a few different contractors, some who work quicker but are more expensive, and some who work less quickly but are cheaper, so we’re very transparent with the client up front and we work with them to calculate the best solution.
At Rocket, we focus on making sure your investment pays off in the long run through our thorough approach to refurbishments.
Our team is dedicated to managing every detail to ensure your property doesn’t just meet the mark, but goes beyond it, saving you time and unnecessary costs.
When you let us handle your refurbishment projects, you can relax knowing that your property is in the hands of experienced experts.
