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Hi Guys, I’m just in the process of purchasing my first property, it is a repossessed 2 bedroom flat so is in need of modernisation. I would say the flat needs a full refurb which would include a new kitchen, bathroom, redecorating, flooring and a new boiler. The surveyor said the electrics and plumbing seem to be fine but may need changing in the near future, so I was thinking to get this down whilst I’m changing everything else. I just wanted to know how much would something like this cost to be done at a good level. In my head I’ve budgeted for about £20k - £25k. Would be great to get some realistic cost from those who have done this type of work. Also if you know any good trades people that could do the job I would really appreciate it if you could forward me their details. I’m based in Croydon. I have attached the floor plan so you can get an idea of the size. You Thanks Charles

Hi I'm just in the process of purchasing a first investment property. It needs a light refurb (rewire,new kitchen, bathroom, decoration). Could anyone recommend a building/property services company that specialise in residential refurbs and renovations. I am looking for a 'one stop' service. We will be looking to purchase/refurb 3 properties a year and would like a reliable & reputable company that we could continue to use. Thanks

Hi All, I'm just starting out near Cambridge and am looking to build my team to help me along the way. I'm looking to do some conversions, so will be needing: 1. Planning consultants 2. An architect 3. An innovative mortgage broker 4. A tax advisor / accountant with good property knowledge. We've really struggled to find reliable people when doing our main house, so Any recommendations or notes of those probably best avoided would be very gratefully received! Thanks All, appreciated!

Good morning everyone, I have recently purchased an old 1930's 2 bedroom terrace property near Sheffield where a small damp problem was highlighted in the survey. There was rising damp on 2 of the walls in the living room with salts on them both. I got 3 quotes for damp proofing & decided to go for the most expensive quote at 2,500 GBP . He was using a 3 tier system comprising of a 2 coat SBR primer, a 2 coat tanking slurry & finishing off with a lime plaster. The damp proofer told me to wait 2 weeks for the lime plaster to dry before getting the decorator to start. After the 2 weeks were up, salts were still appearing meaning decorating was put on hold downstairs. I called him to explain the issue with the salts. He then visited twice after completing the job to spray sulphate over all the walls to remove the salts. In total I had to wait nearly 3 months for the salts to completely dissapear not the 2 weeks I had previously been told. I got the guy from Checkatrade to avoid cowboys. He had 50 reviews with a rating of 10. After the salt problem dissapeared I then noticed a large damp patch on the kitichen wall that is joined to the living room. I have added a photo. He could not explain it but agreed to come back free of charge to fix the problem. The day after I was free from salts, I then noticed several long, thin cracks appearing all over his plaster work. I have attached photos. The next day I called in 2 so called damp proofing experts. The first stated just from looking at it that I had been ripped off. There was no damp proofing done, he had just simply removed my plaster & added the cheapest gypsum plaster and charged me 2,500 GBP for the priviledge. He cut out some plaster and confirmed this.The next damp expert cut out part of the plaster put his damp meter on the wall and it went off the scale. He told me the same thing that no damp proofing had been done. Hearing this from 2 so called experts I was absolutely livid and so angry I had been ripped off. This has never happened to me in 50 years! I then got recommended a family friend who I am told is an established building contractor. My family have assured me he would give me the correct information and not rip me off. He told me the exact opposite of the other two damp proofers!. He showed me the plaster used was actually double the price of gypsum. He then showed me parts of the wall where the tanking slurry had been added and pointed out that several parts had been missed. He said that when the plaster was mixed it was not done correctly in places, by knocking on parts that made a hollow sound. He said the whole job would need doing again from scratch. I was kind of relieved that he had actually done the damp proofing, unfortunately just not to the standard I needed. After I was told this, I politely messaged the tradesman who did this shoddy work but he has been impossible to contact. He has blocked my mobile number so it goes to voicemail and blocked me on Whatspp. The email I sent him was also ignored. He gave me a 30 year guarantee with a company called Biokill based in Derby. After phoning the company they confirmed that he has never been registered with them. Simply put he fraudulently made up a photocopied 30 year guarantee using their company name to pretend I had a valuable document that would guarantee his work. To confuse me even more the first tradesman to visit, to investigate the sub standard work told me I do not need it damp proofed. He told me rising damp is a complete fraud and that water cannot rise upwards on bricks. He told me that the water on my kitchen wall was coming in from where my flat roof joins the main roof, I have a 2 storey extension. It does make sense as there is a damp patch on the same wall above in the back bedroom. Sorry for the long explanation but because I am totally new to this I feel I am completely out of my depth. I have been told so many different things I do not know what to believe. They cannot all be correct? Please, please could you be so kind to give me some advice? I still have damp in my property and do not know if I should waste 3 grand on getting it damp proofed again, get the roof fixed or get the outside rendered and the pointing fixed at the front? I have more photos if that will help. Kind regards kevindjmartin Damp (DMS PLASTERING LTD) Quote.pdf

Hi, I have undertaken a few renovations of projects in Hull in the past few years, so have a few tradesmen I use. However, I have just purchased a 3 bedroom flat in Leeds City center that requires renovation works. As I don't know any local tradesmen where would people recommend to try and find then? Does any one use any particular websites like Checkatrade.com? Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, I'm looking for a local (reliable) electrician and plumber for my BTL near the city center- any recommendations? Will gladly mention you when contacting them! Thanks

Hi, I am a newbie here. I own a property investment company and have build portfolio of 60 in London and surrounding areas since 2005. I extended my portfolio in past year to Manchester and now have 8 properties there. I am looking for good tradesmen/handymen who can do general property maintenance as i am based in London. Also any recommended place to get kitchen appliances (like Fridge, Washing Machines etc) Regards, Junaid.

Hi All - just looking to see if anyone would recommend any builders based in and around Glasgow? Specifically looking for someone suitable for refurbing flats or houses, so they could fit a kitchen and rewire if required. I managed individual tradesmen in refurbing my first flat with some positive and not so positive results, and everyone seems to be very busy at the moment so looking to expand my pool of tradesmen for upcoming projects. If anyone has any people they have worked with before and would recommend that would be very much appreciated. Cheers!

Dear Hubbers, For the refurbishment of our latest property purchase in Stockport, we are looking forTradesmen in the area. Does anyone know any reliable tradesmen with an eye for detail and reasonable fees in the Stockport area? We would really appreciate your help! Cheers, Elise

Hi I am starting out on my property journey with a business partner who already has some experience of renting serviced accommodation but we both want to build a portfolio of BTL's as quickly as possible. We've been listening to the back catalogue of podcasts (along with the recent ones) which have been really useful, and we attended our first meetup last week in Manchester. We have started to put together a power team but really need to find good tradespeople in the Oldham / Rochdale area, also a good surveyor who could help assess the prospective done up value. Any recommendations would be gratefully received - we're keen to follow Rob & Rob's advice to go with these! Does anyone also have any good examples/templates for presenting an investment proposal to a prospective funder of a short term loan - as we're likely to need to find additional angel finance in the early stages. Cheers, David