We have been writing for the Life magazines in Kent and south east London about project management as it applies to property owners. The article below was written to share our passion for helping people to navigate the choppy waters of building a new home or substantially improving their current one:
Knowing what you’re doing in life is hard. So hard that we put children through schools, typically for over a decade, to prepare them for life. Even then, there is so much more to learn and to adapt to. That is why life coaches exist, to provide an expert helping hand.
The same is true in the world of property. Knowing what you’re doing when buying and selling a home is one of the most stressful experiences we can encounter. So too when building a new home, refurbishing one, or adding an extension. Many people learn the hard way, as they juggle quotes, legislation, services, and trades, each with their own demands and timetables. Getting this wrong can be costly.
An expert Project Manager can be either a guide or an emergency service to people building or re-building a home. A guide, because in the often complex process of building or changing a property, guidance can be crucial. An emergency service, because without that guidance from the start, things can easily come unstuck and then need to be expertly managed and resolved.
Tony Cheeseman, Founder and Director of IQ Property Services, has been making dream homes come true for over forty years. He is well aware of the numerous pitfalls in building projects, “We recently had a new client who came to us as while building a new home she received a demand from a Council for over £30,000 under the Community Infrastructure Levy. It is possible to be made exempt from this tax if you are building your own home, but the process hadn’t been followed to the letter. Often, people come to us when things go wrong. In an ideal world, we want to talk to them before that happens. Working with professionals such as Quantity Surveyors, structural engineers and architects, an experienced Project Manager takes on the day to day load of co-ordination and problem solving. We plan. We co-ordinate. We manage. We know the things our clients don’t know that they even need to know! We always act in the clients’ best interests, looking out for what might go wrong.”
Have you considered using a Project Manager? Give Tony a call for a no-obligation chat on 01959 533788. Otherwise, please get in touch via the form on our Contact page.