When I started my property career in 1994 started off fairly small, with cosmetic changes and minor repairs. I did nothing structural in those first flips, and I didn’t need to hire any specialists to help me out. These days…as the saying goes…the bigger the muck – the bigger the muck. We use a structural engineer who guides us regarding works and “approx” costs. It all boils down to knowledge and quantifying actual costs that others are too afraid to buy. Manchester is a tough property market so we have to be able to expand our building knowledge….

The key is having the right builders who are hard working and honest. Yesterday had a shocking whatsup that either my wife or son overpaid our builders. As we strive to be honorable I greatly respect he sent me a message that he was over paid. Immediately…laughingly…I told him Christmas came early and then asked my wife to check. Luckily she nor my son made any mistake and our builders confused one of the payments. This shows integrity.

However sometimes there is a special disease that only builders get…builderitis. I have seen it over and over again.

  • Showing up late
  • Skipping days
  • Shoddy work
  • Blaming others for problems they caused
  • Stealing from the job site
  • Padding the final invoice

If you start seeing any of the above it is a major red flag.

Thoughts…comments…