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I'm renovating a buy to let flat in a building that has 6 flats. There is already building insurance for the building which is part of the service charge. So i want to findout if I need to get insurance for renovation work. Or is it normal to do renovation without taking out renovation insurance each time? Thanks

I find myself in a scenario where I have a 3 story building (estimate 160sqm) in need of a major renovation in the North west of England.Intentions are to convert the building into a 4 bed 2 En suite 2 off suite Home, average finish, fully project mange the build myself Subcontract Etc. Starting with Inside• A complete strip out• Structural Tie rods to Tie the building together, I believe • Roof only 1 of 2 Upsides, it needs some strengthening with new timber 80% good repair • Complete wiring + storage heaters • Plumb the showers, sinks, sewers no central heating• Windows the other Upside, are brand new both front & back• Slab + plaster Outside• Guttering • 30 % plastering example around reveals + soft spotsImportant points Building is not Listed the ground floor is commercial so (Change of use planning) I have not had a survey done yet still I witnessed the work done on the previous neighbors same building however they are no longer around to seek advice. My questions are,1. How do I establish an estimate i.e. building cost per square meter?2. Where would you suggest I could keep costs down?Finally time isn’t entirely priority but within reason.Thank you for viewing.

Having dipped my toe into the BTL market for the first time last year, I’ve recently decided to attempt my first flip. Me and my business partner are planning to pool some money together and buy somewhere, renovate, and hopefully sell for a profit. If it goes well we’ll go again, if the gains are modest it may just go towards another BTL... My question (or questions) are - Which renovations will add the most value? And perhaps more importantly - are we crazy for attempting this as when all is said and done it may line up with us looking to sell the property towards the end of the year when we could be crashing out of the EU!?... for a bit of background we are looking in the south east of England, namely Kent/Essex, as this is where my BTL properties are and the project will be easier to manage. any advise would be appreciated, cheers.

Hello, Tristan here from Brighton. I am a farmer from south east England , over the last 2 years I have become involved in commercial development and lettings having played a large part in the conversion and development of an old dairy farm. I now manage the current 32 workshop units which are let to individuals and small businesses. We hope to expand the site further in the future as we are experiencing very high demand for out of town affordable office and light industrial workshops. The learning experience of this process has been vast and I would be more than happy to share what I have learnt so far with anyone interested in small scale commercial workshop development and lettings. In 2015 I invested in residential property for the first time, it was a JV with my father. Given the recent stamp duty changes and my wish to move in with my girlfriend we have decided to sell the current buy-to-let so we can buy a property of our own, avoiding the higher rate stamp duty and using the money made from the investment. With prices in the south east almost out of reach for us we are looking in the Hailsham, Eastbourne and Polegate area. We work about an hour away from these locations and ideally we would rather live nearer Crowborough/Uckfield. Our strategy is to do a fix and flip in one of these areas in order to generate some cash so we can afford to move closer to where we work. I'm also desperate to still have enough money to invest in a buy-to-let up north along the HS2 route in the next 2 years. We have viewed about 10 properties in these areas over the last 2 months, all needing varying amounts of work, we keep being out-bid and are struggling to find the opportunity to flip for good money within a 6 month time frame. Any advice on my strategy, the Hailsham, Eastbourne and Polegate area as well as fix and flips would be much appreciated. I have included a few photos of our current development. Many Thanks, Tristan

Hello everyone, I'm getting closer to buying my first BTL property. I have done lots of research and read thepropertyhub blog, listened to podcasts. There is a lot of advice to buy a property with potential to add value (renovating, adding extensions), so that you can remortgage and get your deposit back. My question is, if I'm buying away from where I live and I don't have a lot of experience with refurbishing properties, is this still a good strategy? I would have to find a construction company, trust that they do the right job, won't charge me a fortune, the refurb will not take too long so I can let the property. Or should I buy a property that perhaps requires only cosmetic changes (new paint, new carpet etc) But then I would not be able to get my deposit back with remortgaging. Thank you for any advice! Ewa