Our Fixed Refurbishment Costs and Why They Matter

August 13, 2026

One thing we have remained adamant about from the start is that investors should be protected from costs that simply are not their problem.

When somebody invests with Foot Forward Property Investments, they are trusting us to source, develop and deliver a property properly. That means taking responsibility for the parts of the project that sit within our control, rather than agreeing one figure at the beginning and then steadily adding costs as the refurbishment progresses.

It is exactly why we offer fixed refurbishment costs on our HMO and Care Property developments through our Price Lock Promise.

Once the refurbishment cost has been agreed, that is the figure our investor can work with. If building materials increase in price halfway through the project, we do not suddenly send the investor another invoice. If something unexpected appears during the refurbishment, we deal with it. If we decide that an alteration needs to be made because of something we have requested, that cost does not simply get pushed across to the investor.

Those are development risks. We are the developer.

Investors Should Not Be Funding Our Problems

There is a fairly simple principle behind the Price Lock Promise.

If we are developing an HMO for an investor, it is our responsibility to understand the property, cost the refurbishment properly and manage the development from beginning to end. The investor should not have to spend the entire refurbishment wondering whether the original figure is going to creep up by another £5,000, £10,000 or more.

Of course, refurbishment projects involve moving parts. Material prices change. Trades uncover things that were not immediately obvious. Specifications sometimes need adjusting. Building Control, planning requirements, fire safety considerations or the practical realities of a building can require changes along the way.

We know that because we actually develop properties.

Our response to those situations is not to treat the investor as an emergency source of additional funding.

If material prices move after we have priced the project, that is something we have to manage. If we have underestimated something, that is on us. If our team decides that something needs changing during the development, we cannot reasonably expect an investor to pay more simply because our own requirements have changed.

That is what taking responsibility for a development looks like.

Why Fixed Refurbishment Costs Matter So Much

For an investor, the refurbishment figure affects practically every important calculation surrounding the property.

It influences the total capital required, expected return on investment, refinancing position, cash reserves and the overall viability of the deal. A refurbishment that begins at one number and finishes substantially higher can completely change the economics of the investment.

That is why we do not believe refurbishment costs should be treated as an approximate starting point before the extras begin appearing.

An investor should be able to assess a Foot Forward HMO or Care Property knowing what the development is going to cost them from the outset. They should not have to keep additional capital sitting on the sidelines because they are worried about what the developer might discover or decide to charge for halfway through the project.

Our Price Lock Promise gives them that certainty.

The Problem With Inexperienced HMO Developers

The HMO development market has become considerably noisier over the last few years.

There are now an awful lot of people positioning themselves as developers. Spend a little time on LinkedIn or social media and you will see them. They are permanently “on the move”, permanently “doing deals”, permanently sharing wisdom and posting endless AI-generated content about how busy they are.

Posting about property development and being capable of delivering property developments are two very different things.

The real test usually comes when something goes wrong.

A refurbishment encounters a problem. A contractor wants more money. Materials cost more than expected. The budget was too tight from day one. Cash flow becomes uncomfortable. Suddenly, the investor receives a phone call explaining why another contribution is required.

That is often what happens when a developer is inexperienced, undercapitalised or has priced a project aggressively simply to get the investor through the door.

If there is no financial strength behind the developer and little genuine experience of managing difficult refurbishments, there is only one obvious place for those unexpected costs to go: the investor.

We do not operate that way.

A Fixed Price Requires Proper Planning

Offering fixed refurbishment costs is not simply a marketing promise. You need to be confident enough in your numbers to stand behind them.

Before we commit to a refurbishment figure, the property has to be properly assessed. The specification needs to make sense. Labour, materials and professional costs have to be understood. Contingencies have to be considered. The development needs to be approached as an actual construction project rather than a spreadsheet exercise designed to produce the most attractive-looking return.

Experience matters here.

After developing HMOs and working through the problems that inevitably appear during construction, you become much better at identifying where difficulties are likely to arise. You understand where budgets commonly move, which parts of a building deserve closer inspection and where seemingly minor decisions can have expensive consequences later.

You also learn that protecting your investor is far more important than protecting an artificially low initial quote.

We would rather price a refurbishment correctly at the beginning and stand behind that figure than give an investor an attractive number to secure the deal before gradually increasing it once they are committed.

Our Price Lock Promise

Our Price Lock Promise exists because we believe investors deserve certainty.

When we agree the refurbishment cost for one of our HMO or Care Property developments, we accept responsibility for delivering the development within that figure. Rising material costs, unexpected refurbishment issues or alterations resulting from our own decisions are not excuses to keep returning to the investor for more money.

There is an important distinction here. If an investor personally requests substantial additional works or decides to change the agreed specification, naturally that is a separate conversation. But ordinary development risk should sit with the developer.

That is where it sits with us.

There will always be developers prepared to offer a cheaper-looking refurbishment figure. There will always be somebody willing to produce a spreadsheet with slightly better projected returns. What matters is whether those numbers still exist six months later when the property is being developed and real invoices are being paid.

We know better than to build our business around passing our problems onto our investors.

More importantly, we believe our investors deserve better than that.

That is why our refurbishment costs are fixed. That is why the Price Lock Promise exists. And that is why, when we take responsibility for developing an HMO or Care Property, we take responsibility for the development itself, not just the easy parts.