What is a bridging lender looking for in a Bridging Schedule of Works for property renovation?
If you are reading this article on “how to complete a Bridging Schedule of Works,” you are probably about to embark on a house renovation or development project using bridging finance.
A Bridging Schedule of Works lays out the project’s scope with the main tasks itemised and costed and gives timeframes for completion. The level of detail will depend on the project’s complexity and could extend to budget control and contractor management.
Before completing my Bridging Schedule of Works lender what prep should I do?
It’s a good idea to start by listing out all the jobs that need to be done for your refurbishment project. For example, painting, skimming, general decoration, carpeting, and laying laminate flooring might be within your personal capabilities. Hanging doors, re-plastering, putting in kitchen cabinets, and installing appliances might also be second nature. However, will you need to buy in labour for plumbing, central heating, re-wiring, roofing, and gas appliance installations?
Is any of the work going to be structural? For example, will you need an architect to map out where the steel supports need to be positioned? Is the change within permitted development rights, or will you need planning permission?
You then need to do your research into the costs. Don’t forget, even if you plan to do the work yourself, how is the time spent on this impacting your normal income stream? There might also be limitations on what you can do. For instance, are you Corgi registered to carry out gas installations?
What are the typical costs of house refurbishment
As a guide, here are the 2024 averages, which can vary depending on the region:
| Type of Renovation | Average Cost (UK) |
|---|---|
| Full house renovation | £60,000–£100,000+ |
| Kitchen remodel | £10,000–£25,000 |
| Bathroom remodel | £6,000–£15,000 |
| New roof | £5,000–£12,000 |
| Plastering entire house | £4,000–£8,000 |
| Rewiring a 3-bed house | £4,000–£7,000 |
| Central heating system | £3,500–£7,500 |
| Painting & decorating | £2,000–£6,000 |
Guide to the cost of materials used in UK renovations
Break down materials into categories with typical options and costs. Of course, these could be much greater if you intend to go for a high spec.
- Kitchen
– Units: £2,000 to £10,000
– Appliances: £1,500 to £5,000
– Worktops (laminate to quartz): £30–£300/m² - Bathroom
-Suite (toilet, basin, bath/shower): £500–£3,000
– Tiling: £20–£50/m²
– Labour: £150–£250 per day - Windows & Doors
– Composite door: £900–£1,500
– UPVC window: £300–£500 each - Floors
– Engineered wood: £25–£70/m²
– Laminate: £10–£30/m²
– Tiles: £20–£60/m² - Walls & Paint
– Emulsion paint: £10–£40 per 5L
– Plasterboard: £7–£12 per sheet
– Skim plaster: £1.50–£3.00/m²
How do I work out the timings?
Whilst it can be pretty straightforward to attribute timings to the length of time to individual tasks, much more thought needs to go into how they all dovetail together. For instance, you probably don’t want an exposed roof while decorating the bedrooms. You need to plaster before painting! What is the availability of the electrician or gas engineer, and at what point will you need them? You can easily lose a week here and there through bad planning.
Who’s going to stay on top of the Contractors? They don’t always turn up on time! Also, the sourcing of materials and their lead time for delivery need to be factored in. It’s a good idea to do this ahead of the labour start date.
With structural projects, the biggest delays can also be waiting for planning permission and staged building control sign-off.
Mapping the project on a Gantt chart is a good idea. Project management software packages are available to aid your Schedule of Works, and if renovation is going to be your livelihood, it might be worth investing in a system.
Of course, allow time for fixing snags. A good way to do this is to work out the desired end date for the completion of the project and plot backward.
Guide to the timeframes of a House renovation
| Task | Estimated Time |
|---|---|
| Full house renovation | 3–9 months |
| Kitchen installation | 2–4 weeks |
| Bathroom remodel | 2–3 weeks |
| Rewiring | 1–2 weeks |
| Roofing | 1–3 weeks |
Completing Your Schedule Of Works for the Bridging Lender
If you have gone through the process above, you should be well equipped to tackle the Schedule of Works for the Bridging lender.
Most, but not all, bridging lenders will have their own Schedule of Works template to complete. Niche Advice also has a template for a Schedule of Works which is available on request.
What are the Bridging Lenders looking for in your Bridging Schedule of Works
The key is to stay focused on completing the form. Don’t fall into the trap of overwhelming the Bridging Lender with detail unless requested, as this will be a detractor. Bear in mind that they will be constantly appraising deals all day and would want an easy-to-digest response rather than being bogged down with superfluous information.
The Bridging Lender will question you about your past project experience, so if you have a portfolio, it’s worth submitting at the same time. They will dwell on the areas that need the most expertise and require a suitably qualified person and ask for the firm’s names so they can vet the quality of their work, starting with their online presence. They could also request invoices to support the costings, particularly if, in their opinion, the price attributed to the task looks on the low side.
If they are simply lending for the purchase and you are funding the works yourself, they will check that you have the savings to fully complete the project, along with a 10% to 15% contingency reserve.
Bridging Schedule of Works download documents (Microsoft Excel sheet)
This generic Bridging Schedule of Works download should help you organise the outstanding works together with costings. Most lenders dealing with bridging finance will require a document similar to this, so our template will help you. Simply click on the Excel image below to download the file.
The Bridging Lender will want to ensure you are realistic with your timings. They will be familiar with how long specific projects take as they are seeing them day in and day out. They also will be acutely aware that borrowers sometimes “try it on” to cram in projects to extract more money from them on day one due to shorter term / lower deduction for retained interest. Don’t underestimate the time for inspections and approvals. Finally, they will check that you have built in time for the refinance or sale.
Niche Advice is a property finance broker that helps fund refurbishment bridging projects.
Source of statistics ChatGPT
