Costings for lender

[eandg]

How airtight do these need to be and are they looking for absolutely everything to be costed? Spoke with mine's at lunchtime who advise they'll need quotes but I'm not necessarily at the stage of QSing everything and don't want to negotiate with builders merchants and contractors on everything before we put in a final application. 

[Conor]

We got a rough cost estimate from a QS using our planning drawings. Not sent it to Ecology yet but they've said that they will accept it. I'm detailing it out a bit more by getting quotes for supply and fit items... Like floor slab, ICF, windows, heating system etc. Don't need full detailed drawings for those estimates at this stage. Everything else is basically assumed.

[Alex C]

I had an ecology mortgage and did my own costings but have quite a bit of experience doing this. For the large value items I had quotes and then worked most other items out from rates having spoken to a number of people in the trade. The more convincing the budget the better, this also shows the bank that you are not some joker with no clue. They will be looking at build budgets all day long so will be able to spot dodgy pricing a mile away. Dont tell them you are going to build for £1000m2 and do all the work yourself even though your only experience is watching repeats of Building The Dream on Dave.

[eandg]

Thanks both, it's Ecology I spoke with today too. A lot of the finishing work (fitting kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and painting) we will do unless we're flush as we have experience and are competent there. Big tickets will be superstructure, windows and doors, roofing and cladding, stairs, plumbing, electrics, fees, kitchen, bathrooms and flooring? Do we need to cost built in wardrobes, plasterboard, screws etc or can that just get covered as sundry items? 

[Conor]

There's a standard way to price up a build - everything is categorised and you don't need to breakdown in to components e.g. there will be a line for internal carpentry, floor, electrical etc. Can't think of where it comes from but may be RICS. Have a search. 

 

[Alex C]

10 hours ago, eandg said:

Thanks both, it's Ecology I spoke with today too. A lot of the finishing work (fitting kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and painting) we will do unless we're flush as we have experience and are competent there. Big tickets will be superstructure, windows and doors, roofing and cladding, stairs, plumbing, electrics, fees, kitchen, bathrooms and flooring? Do we need to cost built in wardrobes, plasterboard, screws etc or can that just get covered as sundry items? 

Dont quote sheets of plasterboard and screws. You need to find a realistic rate per m2 rate for plasterboard with a skim coat applied if that is what you are doing. Ask your local plasterer what his rate is for this. same for floor laying. For electrical allow for a rate per socket and just add up how many you are having, same with light fittings. Again ask your electrician if they will tell you their rate. Most lenders wont be happy with you missing out chunks of cost because you are doing it yourself. They will want a realistic cost for completing the build so their money is secure. Make sure the total budget ends up being a reasonable figure or the lenders will worry you will run out of cash before completion and may be less willing to lend to you.

[eandg]

23 hours ago, Alex C said:

Dont quote sheets of plasterboard and screws. You need to find a realistic rate per m2 rate for plasterboard with a skim coat applied if that is what you are doing. Ask your local plasterer what his rate is for this. same for floor laying. For electrical allow for a rate per socket and just add up how many you are having, same with light fittings. Again ask your electrician if they will tell you their rate. Most lenders wont be happy with you missing out chunks of cost because you are doing it yourself. They will want a realistic cost for completing the build so their money is secure. Make sure the total budget ends up being a reasonable figure or the lenders will worry you will run out of cash before completion and may be less willing to lend to you.

Thanks Alex. I have a QS who's going to send me over rates from some system or other that they use. I'd imagine in a lot of areas we could shave some cash off that (e.g. on electrics, it'd be the cost of cabling and fittings plus a much smaller amount for labour as my father in law is an electrical engineer and will be second man to his pal, a spark, who'll do it for a cash in hand rate) which if the plsn is tight, particularly to incorporate a 10% contingency, then I'd like to reflect somehow. 

[Alex C]

5 hours ago, eandg said:

Thanks Alex. I have a QS who's going to send me over rates from some system or other that they use. I'd imagine in a lot of areas we could shave some cash off that (e.g. on electrics, it'd be the cost of cabling and fittings plus a much smaller amount for labour as my father in law is an electrical engineer and will be second man to his pal, a spark, who'll do it for a cash in hand rate) which if the plsn is tight, particularly to incorporate a 10% contingency, then I'd like to reflect somehow. 

@eandg The problem is I don't think many lenders would swallow the 'my mates doing it for cash' routine so you will need to show some reasonable figures. Lenders normally want to be sure there is enough cash available to complete the build, not get stuck with a half finished property.

[SuperJohnG]

@eandg can I ask what you ended up submitting to the Lender? I'm assuming it was ecology.

 

I'm just at the stage I need to do this with them, I have got a lots of prices already for big ticket items however still working on my budget which I've been dragging my heels on and didn't know whether to  just use estimators online to tick the box just now and combine what they provide with my supplied quotes. 

[Pm1987]

We got our mortgage through ecology and got quotes for the larger outlays. We simply attached these to a spreadsheet with estimated costs smaller outlays and got accepted with no questions regarding budget.