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One addition to my sequencing point: keep the contingency outside the contractor’s working budget. If the £98,730 is a hard ceiling, the designed scope needs to sit below it rather than relying on every allowance being unused. I’d ask for prices showing three columns: fixed work, provisional...

A practical order would be: investigate moisture and accessible services first; define the electrical and plumbing outcomes; freeze kitchen and bathroom layouts; then obtain itemised tenders using the same scope. Require a list of exclusions and lead-time items with each tender. The programme...

Monthly affordability deserves its own test rather than being buried inside total cost. Work out whether the 6.37% payment is comfortable after normal ownership expenses, then model a higher payment after the fixed period. If that only works after a hoped-for refinance, the loan is already...

Give both agents the same scenario: your intended deadline, property condition and minimum acceptable outcome. Ask each for a launch price, the evidence behind it, and a written schedule for reassessing after the first wave of viewings. If the higher agent cannot explain what would trigger a...