Appraising a Conversion

Permitted development, unit counts, build costs and end values

The development appraisal is the most important skill in conversions, and this book teaches it. It shows you how to look at a commercial building, work out how many homes it could sensibly become, estimate what those homes will be worth and what they will cost to create, and decide within an afternoon whether to pursue the deal or walk away. It picks out the handful of figures that decide a scheme, shows where to find reliable data without a subscription, and warns against optimism about end value, the most seductive error in any conversion appraisal. You will build the full cost stack beginners forget, then stress-test the scheme against a build overrun, a sales void and a rate rise. A complete worked example brings the method together on one scheme, and the final chapter sets out your deal calculator as a way of thinking, along with the legal questions it cannot answer. Next in this series: “Prior Approval, Planning and Building Control”.

What’s inside

• The only numbers that actually matter
• Where to find reliable local data for free
• Working out true value, not optimistic value
• The full cost stack nobody mentions
• Stress-testing for the overrun, the sales void and the rate rise
• A complete worked example, start to finish
• Your deal calculator, and the legal questions it cannot answer

Educational material only, not financial, legal or tax advice. Results are not typical and are not a guarantee of income. Freedom Property Academy LTD, registered in England and Wales.