Cooper Construction · Full project management

HMO project management, from design to aftercare

You can't be on site, but your builder still wants paying. We run the build: a written report after every stage visit, and payment only for work we've inspected as complete.

Adam Cooper, Director, Cooper Construction

Adam Cooper, Director. 14+ years in property · 79 projects · £37.8M combined end value (GDV) of projects we've been involved in

£21,000 inc VAT (£17,500 + VAT) on a build of about £200,000.

Paid in stages alongside your builder's payments, as a percentage of each stage valuation. Nothing is booked until you've signed.

Professional indemnity insurance £2m · public liability insurance £5m.

Compare it with what one month's delay costs you: work it out.

Book a 20-minute call

20 minutes with Tahirah, free and with no obligation: your property, your build and whether full project management or Get You On Site fits.

Adam Cooper on site, on the advice his mentor gave him
Adam on site: what my mentor told me.

Running an HMO build yourself is a second job

  • Every decision you haven't made holds a trade up, and a builder stuck waiting costs money.
  • Every payment you make without a proper valuation is a risk you're carrying.
  • A missing certificate at the end can hold up building control sign-off, the licence and the final drawdown.
  • Every week the house isn't finished is another week of interest.

"I've paid £5,000 for a one-month loan extension. Twice, on one project." Adam Cooper

Mine was a sale that dragged. A short room found at the end can do the same: you're waiting on your lender, and the interest keeps running.

Full project management puts one team in charge of all of it: decisions made before site, payments checked against completed work, and the certificates collected for sign-off.

Work out what a month's delay costs you

A finished HMO studio on a job we project-managed: kitchenette, wardrobe, desk and double bed by a bay window, each with its own space
A finished studio on a job we project-managed: kitchenette, wardrobe, desk and bed, each with its own space.

Package or project management: which is for you?

Full project management

We run the build for you.

£21,000 inc VAT (£17,500 + VAT) on a build of about £200,000

  • We run the build for you and administer the contract.
  • Site visits at every key stage, with a written report after each visit. Cooper Construction runs your build. Stage visits are made by our team or a qualified surveyor we instruct, working to our checklist, and every report comes to us to review before it reaches you.
  • Payments authorised only for work we've inspected as complete, every variation in writing, and a full compliance pack at the end.

Get You On Site

You run the build. We plan, price and check it.

£6,000 inc VAT (£5,000 + VAT) for the package

  • You, or someone you appoint, run the build contract.
  • We give you the schedule of works, the optimised layout and the prices, so every builder prices the same job.
  • A qualified surveyor we instruct checks the build at 4 site visits. You keep your builder.

See the package · All the pieces and prices

Book a 20-minute call

What's included in HMO project management

Six parts, from early design to aftercare. Open any part to see what's in it.

1 · Design, before anyone builds

Every room planned on paper first, around the furniture.

See the 7 things we do
  • Work with your architect on planning, regulations and how the house will be used.
  • In-house design optimisation: space planning and furniture placed with dimensions before work starts.
  • Furniture and electrical layouts: sockets, switches, lights and heating placed around the furniture.
  • Zoned heating design on larger projects, with gas engineers.
  • Where your scheme needs it, Wi-Fi planned into the build: data cable to every floor, run back to one point with power for the router, ready for access points to spread the signal through the house.
  • A professional design guide, so decisions are made before the build, not during it. It doubles as your maintenance reference afterwards.
  • A lettings design brief based on local tenant demand, so the rooms are designed for the people who'll rent them.

2 · Paperwork and approvals

Engineers, party walls, lender and building control, coordinated for you.

See the 5 things we do
  • Structural engineer coordination: beam plans and calculations for your contractor and building control.
  • Party wall awards: packs prepared and managed, adjoining owners liaised with, under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
  • Lending paperwork: a detailed schedule of works prepared for your lender. The lending decision is your lender's.
  • Building control strategy: the right building control firm for your scheme, for example inspectors experienced in rooms with their own cooking facilities.
  • Utility coordination before and during the build.

3 · Contractor and site, stage by stage

Site visits at every key stage, a written report after each, and every variation in writing.

See the 8 things we do
  • A project programme and milestones agreed with your contractor.
  • Contractors shortlisted for your job on experience, spec, complexity and location, with checks carried out. You choose who you sign with.
  • Site launch with roles, expectations and reporting agreed from day one.
  • Site visits at each key stage: pre-start, rip-out, structural sign-off, first fix, pre-plasterboard, after skimming, second-fix joinery, decoration, snagging and completion.
  • A written report after every site visit.
  • Client walkthroughs at key stages.
  • Programme and milestones tracked, with risks flagged early.
  • Every variation, time or cost, in writing, approved by you and tracked.

4 · Costs and cash flow

Payments authorised only for work we've inspected as complete.

Cooper Construction stage valuation certificate from a real project-managed job: each section of the schedule of works with its percentage complete (client, property, contractor details and £ figures removed)
A stage valuation certificate from a real project-managed job (client, property, contractor details and £ figures removed).
See the 3 things we do
  • Deposits avoided unless absolutely necessary.
  • Lender surveyor visits scheduled, valuation paperwork prepared and queries answered.
  • Money managed so what your contractor expects and what your lender releases line up.

5 · Sign-off and handover

A full compliance pack at the end, and a handover pack for your agent.

See the 5 things we do
  • Building control coordinated from start to final sign-off.
  • Sound testing and SAP calculations arranged and reviewed.
  • We collect the documents for your final compliance pack: EPC, your fire risk assessment (from your assessor), building regulations completion certificate, gas and electrical certificates, fire alarm and emergency lighting certificates (from your installer), boiler warranty and more.
  • Marketing planned early: letting activity usually starts 2 to 4 weeks before completion.
  • A lettings handover pack for your agent: room sizes, warranties, utility points, stopcock, consumer unit locations, fire alarm panel location and zone plan, fire door ratings, finishes list and manuals.

6 · Aftercare

A 6 to 12 month support window after completion.

See the 2 things we do
  • A 6 to 12 month support window, depending on the job, liaising between your agent, contractor and you.
  • Defects chased with the contractor and checked when they're fixed.

How HMO project management works

  1. Book a 20-minute call.

    Your property, your drawings, your finance and your timescale.

  2. Proposal.

    What we'll run, when, and the fee for your build. Nothing is booked until you've signed. Our fee is paid in stages alongside your builder's payments, as a percentage of each stage valuation. There's no fixed upfront schedule; your proposal sets out the percentage.

  3. Design and paperwork.

    Layout, schedule of works, party wall and building control settled before site.

  4. Contractor and site start.

    Contractor appointed, programme agreed, site launched.

  5. Build.

    Stage visits with a written report after each, walkthroughs at key stages, every payment checked against completed work.

  6. Completion and handover.

    Sign-off, compliance pack and your agent's handover pack, then aftercare.

Book a 20-minute call

Who full project management is for

  • You're converting a house into an HMO and can't be on site every week.
  • You'd rather pay for one team to run it than manage the architect, engineer, builder, building control and utilities yourself.
  • You want payments checked, variations in writing and a full compliance pack at the end.

Not for you if you'd rather run the build contract yourself. That's Get You On Site, £6,000 inc VAT (£5,000 + VAT): see the package.

FAQs

What does full project management include?

Everything from early design to aftercare: design optimisation, structural, party wall and building control coordination, contractor appointment, site visits at every key stage, cost and payment control, certificates and compliance, your agent's handover pack and a 6 to 12 month aftercare window.

How much does it cost?

£21,000 inc VAT (£17,500 + VAT) on a build of about £200,000. Your proposal sets out the fee for your build. Book a 20-minute call and we'll talk through your build.

How is the £21,000 paid?

In stages, alongside your builder's payments: a percentage of each stage valuation. There's no fixed upfront schedule. Your proposal sets out the percentage and the stages.

How is it different from Get You On Site?

Get You On Site gives you the documents, the prices and the checks, and you run the build contract. With full project management, we run the build for you and administer the contract.

I already have a builder. Can I still use you?

Yes. With Get You On Site you keep your builder and run the contract, and we give you the schedule of works and the prices, and a qualified surveyor we instruct checks the build at 4 site visits. If you want us to run the build too, ask on the call.

Do you arrange finance?

No. We write a detailed schedule of works, prepared for your lender. Your broker arranges the finance. The lending decision is your lender's.

Who makes the stage visits?

Cooper Construction runs your build. Stage visits are made by our team or a qualified surveyor we instruct, working to our checklist, and every report comes to us to review before it reaches you.

How do you control payments to the contractor?

Payments are only authorised for work we've inspected as complete, deposits are avoided unless absolutely necessary, and we manage the money so what your contractor expects and what your lender releases line up.

What if the contractor walks off or goes bust?

We find another contractor to finish the job and manage the handover. We can't promise what that costs or how long it takes, but we'll tell you the options and their likely impact as soon as we know.

What happens after completion?

A 6 to 12 month support window, depending on the job: we liaise between your agent, contractor and you, and chase defects with the contractor, and check them once they're fixed.

Hand over the build. Keep the control.

Tahirah Sampson, Project Coordinator, Cooper Construction

Book 20 minutes with Tahirah, free and with no obligation, and we'll tell you whether full project management or Get You On Site fits your build.

Book a 20-minute call

or take the free 2-minute checkFive quick questions, then Tahirah calls you back.

Can't wait? Call Tahirah now on 01733 971 200.