It's crucial to start off with a realistic budget, even if the figures you're juggling are huge. Matt and Jodie got off to a bad start, massively underestimating how much it would cost to fully renovate a large Edwardian townhouse spread over three levels.
Labour & Materials: £23,500 (44,500)
Kitchen & Bathroom: £7,000 (13,000)
Plumbing & Electrics: £3,500 (4,000)
Decoration: £6,000 (4,000)
Fees: £0 (29,500)
Total: £40,000 (95,000)
With the original £40,000 budget totally consumed by the loft conversion, this disorganised bunch had to borrow from here, there and everywhere to raise capital for the remainder of the project. While they could have capitalised by extending sideways to make a bigger, more conventional family kitchen, the development was nevertheless a hit with perspective buyers - such a hit, in fact, that they've decided not to sell. Why not keep a good thing all to yourself?
Specific budget figures are unavailable for this development, but we can tell you that Clive & Deborah bought the semi-derelict house for £175,000. They allowed a tiny budget of £20K for all improvements, a budget that fell short by some way. After deciding to create a kitchen diner overlooking the large garden costs spiralled as high as £32K, some £12K more than their original, and rather hopeful, projection. With the property valued at £220,000, the couple might struggle to smash the ceiling price for the area and make a worthwhile return on their first, and maybe their last, development.
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