How to Choose the Right Tradesmen for Your Property Development

Property development is a lucrative industry to work in if you do things the right way. Developers who approach their projects creatively and efficiently produce profitable results. However, to ensure that your next venture is successful, you need to hire the right tradesmen for the tasks at hand. We have listed the ways you can make sure that you employ the right people.

Budget Effectively

The most important thing to consider at the start of any project is your budget. Do you have the money needed to bring the best people on board and make your new venture a success?

If you are renovating an older property, has a full building survey been undertaken in order to flag any problems? Has the surveyor estimated the cost of rectifying any resulting issues? Structural difficulties can cost a lot of money to rectify, but they should be dealt with as soon as possible in order to make the property safe and to avoid higher costs later on.

The work of good tradesmen can also add to the property and make it more appealing to future buyers or tenants. For example, each of the following bits of work can make a significant difference: re-plastering the walls, painting and decorating, installing a new bathroom, adding better fixtures and fittings, or simply cleaning the property.

If you are building a property from scratch, or are carrying out large-scale extension work on an existing property, have you found a reputable and fairly-priced contractor to carry out the work?

It is important to be realistic about what you can achieve and who you can afford to hire.

Be Clear

When you have decided what your property needs, be clear about what you want to implement. Do a little research into your specific needs. Also, if you are making internal changes, you should have an idea of how you want something to look, where certain fixtures and fittings should go, and what kind of design you want.

If you are clear and concise about your needs, the people you hire will be able to tell you about the exact costs of the materials, labour, and any other expenses involved. On the other hand, if you are unclear about your project, the tradesmen may misunderstand your needs and then deliver a service that does not match what you were looking for, or may charge for a more expensive service when a simpler job could have been more suitable.

Get Quotes

As a general rule, you should get at least three quotes from different tradesmen before deciding which one to hire. Be clear about what you need and also do some research on them.

• Do they have any reviews online?
• What have people said about them?
• Can you arrange to see properties that they have worked at ?
• Can they carry out a similar job to the one you need?

It is also a wise idea to choose local tradesmen. It will be easy for them to come to the property, and they will also be able to purchase the materials they need from local sources.

When considering the quotes, look at the details rather than just the final figure. Is one tradesman charging much less or much more for materials than the others? If so, why? Always ask questions and make sure that you look into each figure presented to you in your quote.

Finally, help the people you work with and other property developers by leaving reviews online. It is often easier to write a complaint than a positive review, but if you have had a good experience with a particular tradesman, make sure that everyone knows about it so that others can make good decisions about their tradesmen in the future.

Making a Success of Your Next Property Development

It may seem as though there are many things to consider when beginning your next property venture, but if you plan out your budget fully, you carefully consider the people you will hire, and you think about what your property needs from the outset, your project will have a great chance of success.

Find out more about the residential development finance we offer, or use our Development Profit Calculator to see the final profit your next project could reap.