What is scope creep in property development what is it?
That’s easy. Scope creep is when you are standing in your finished house refurb and working out how much you have spent
Picture this scenario
It was only meant to be a quick flip with a light refurb
Redecorate,plaster one wall in the back bedroom, deep clean the carpets and tidy up the back garden
But once you started you decided to plaster the whole back bedroom and were so pleased with the work that you had the entire house replastered.
The plasterer mentioned that a socket was broken so therefore in the interests of safety you had the whole house rewired
The Electrician knew a really great plumber. So it made sense while he had the floorboards up to install a whole new central heating system. And you could claim the £500 grant from the Government for a new boiler
The Rep from the double glazing company who saw the work going on and knocked on the door was really nice. He was offering a 4 grand discount on new windows as long as you signed up today. So it would have been silly not to spend £10,000 on new windows while you were at it
The old carpets wouldn’t really look that good with the new decorating so you had Engineered oak floors installed throughout
The carpenter who installed the floors did a lot of work for a really friendly builder who convinced you the value of the house would shoot up if you had an extension on the back. Although you didn’t want to spend £50,000 on it he swore blind it would add an extra £100,000 onto the value. And you must admit it looks lovely now
In for a penny in for a pound
A cheap kitchen would have ruined the look of the house with all this extra work. So you went for a top of the range one
And obviously you couldn’t have used the plain white tiles that cost £5 per square metre from Wickes. You had to go for the hand carved Italian Marble ones that matched the Granite worktops in the kitchen that cost £375 each.
The sunken bathroom upstairs may have been a bit extravagant but it does look beautiful
Add to that the Simtronic Intelligent Lighting system you have added throughout the property and the whole feel of the house is fantastic
Stepping outside, you gaze upon the landscaped rear garden with its Japanese waterfall and a garden shed that resembles the Sydney Opera house. And you congratulate yourself at your first attempt at property development and Project Management
Ok you did spend a bit more than you intended, roughly £400,000 to be precise but hey! Every cloud has a silver lining. The house is now worth £925,000.
Well it would be if it was in the heart of Mayfair
But its not. Its a midterrace house on a council estate in a forgotten industrial town. And the most expensive house in that street sold for £100,000. And THAT is scope creep
Don’t let this happen to you
There is a lot of money to be made in property developing. However, it can be easily made and just as easily lost. Remember what the scope of your project and budget is at the beginning and dont let it creep up. Remember this is a business undertaking , so don’t get emotionally attached to it. It has to make a profit or it’s not worth doing
If you don’t have much experience yet and want some professional help get in touch with us here and we will use our extensive experience to help you achieve a superior project at a lower cost and get more value with your money