Development Difficulties

It’s January, moving into February and it’s cold and getting colder next week. Unfortunately, this time of year, the cold and the wet can cause builders and developers problems and for you as a landlord slow progress can be costly and cause you to rethink how your property is ultimately going to develop.

Looking Forward

You can’t change slow progress so don’t ponder on what you can do for now, plan ahead for the next few months and make sure you make the best of upcoming time. If things are really slow talk to your developer or architect and ensure that a new schedule with all the workmen coming at proper times has been designed so that as soon as the weather picks up, so too can progress on your property.

Costs of Development

Having workmen needlessly hanging around is costly and demoralizing so be sure to be realistic. If you haven’t got walls up yet, you won’t need a decorator for at least a month so it doesn’t make any sense to be paying for them. Again, your developer can help out here by reorganising the schedule properly and realistically but remember that as the landlord you’re the paying client. If needs be put your foot down to make sure the job gets done.

Security

If you’re at a difficult stage where your site is left empty overnight or perhaps where an extension is not properly secure, you may need unoccupied property insurance. You’ll have to check your policy covers specifically your development and even if the weather turns really bad, don’t abandon work completely – keep a close eye on who may be around and make sure your site is fully secured.

Slow progress can be a really frustrating experience, especially if you’re only a few days away from having a property watertight and ready to go. The thing is, you can’t rush important building work and a mistake might be more costly than a pause in progress in the long run. Make sure your stoppages aren’t costing you any more than they need to, though, and always make sure your property is well secured.