Costing a Job Properly

Schedules of work, realistic rates and contingency that survives contact

Refurbishments that start with a cheerful number and end with a much larger one are usually the result of costing with optimism rather than method. This book teaches the method. It picks out the numbers that matter, shows where to find reliable cost data for free, and explains the two figures beginners consistently get wrong in the same direction. You will learn to write an honest schedule of works and build the full cost stack that sits on top of it, the largely invisible costs where apparent profits disappear. The costing is then stress-tested against an overrun, a surprise in the building and a softening market, with a contingency that survives contact with reality. A complete worked example costs one job from start to finish, and the final chapter helps you build a calculator you can run on any project, along with the legal questions it cannot answer. Next in this series: “Contracts, Payments and Building Regs”.

What’s inside

• The only numbers that actually matter
• Where to find reliable local data for free
• Working out true cost, not optimistic cost
• The full cost stack nobody mentions
• Stress-testing for the overrun, the surprise and the softening market
• 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.