Property refurbishment & investment glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms that come up in UK refurbishment deals, schedules of works and finance appraisals — from BRRR and GDV to first fix, snagging and MEES.

BRRR: Buy, Refurbish, Refinance, Rent — a strategy where you add value through refurbishment, then refinance at the higher value to pull out most of your capital and keep the property as a rental. BRRR schedule of works →
GDV (Gross Development Value): The expected market value of a property once the works are complete — the end value you appraise a deal against, whether you're selling (flip) or refinancing (BRRR).
LTGDV (Loan to GDV): The loan as a percentage of the Gross Development Value. Development and refurbishment lenders cap the total facility (day-one advance plus works) at a maximum LTGDV, often 65–70%.
LTV (Loan to Value): The loan as a percentage of the property's current value. On a bridge, the day-one advance is limited by LTV against the purchase price or current value.
ROI (Return on Investment): Profit expressed as a percentage of the cash you put in. On a flip it's profit ÷ total cash invested; a key measure for comparing deals. Flip appraisal calculator →
Profit on cost: Profit as a percentage of total project cost (purchase + works + fees + finance). Lenders and investors often want to see a minimum profit-on-cost (commonly ~20%) before backing a flip.
Schedule of Works (SoW): A costed, itemised breakdown of a refurbishment — by trade and/or room, split into materials and labour, phased with subtotals — that a lender or monitoring surveyor uses to release and check funds. Schedule of Works template →
Drawdown: A staged release of loan funds. On a refurbishment facility, the lender releases a tranche as each phase of works is completed and signed off by a monitoring surveyor.
Contingency: A percentage (typically 10–15%) added to a refurbishment budget to cover unforeseen costs. Heavier and HMO projects sit at the top of the range.
First fix: The stage of works done before plastering — running cables, pipes and structural elements into the fabric (wiring, plumbing, carcassing) that get covered up later.
Second fix: The stage after plastering — fitting the visible items: sockets and switches, radiators, sanitaryware, doors, skirting and kitchen units.
Snagging: The final check that identifies small defects and unfinished items (a 'snag list') for the contractor to put right before the job is signed off.
RSJ / steel beam: A Rolled Steel Joist — the beam installed to carry the load when a load-bearing wall is removed for a knock-through. Needs structural calculations and building control. Steel beam cost →
Provisional sum: A cost allowance in a schedule for work that can't be precisely priced yet (e.g. unknown groundworks or drainage). It flags to a lender that the figure is an estimate to be firmed up.
PC sum (Prime Cost): An allowance for a supply item whose exact spec isn't chosen yet — e.g. '£4,000 PC sum for the kitchen'. The final choice adjusts the figure up or down.
Preliminaries (prelims): Project-wide costs that aren't tied to one trade — skips, scaffolding, welfare, site management, insurances and building control. Easy to forget in a room-by-room guess.
HMO: House in Multiple Occupation — a property let to three or more tenants from more than one household sharing facilities. Larger HMOs need a licence and a compliance pack. HMO conversion calculator →
Article 4 direction: A planning direction that removes permitted-development rights — commonly used to require planning permission before converting a house (C3) into a small HMO (C4).
EICR: Electrical Installation Condition Report — the electrical safety certificate landlords must hold (renewed at least every 5 years), based on an inspection of the fixed wiring. EICR cost →
EPC: Energy Performance Certificate — rates a property's energy efficiency A–G. A valid EPC is required to let or sell, and minimum-standard rules (MEES) set the lowest rating you can let at. EPC cost →
MEES: Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards — the rules setting the lowest EPC rating at which a property can be let (currently E, with a move to C proposed). Check current government guidance.
Void: A period when a rental property is empty and earning no rent — during refurbishment, between tenancies, or while re-letting. A cost to allow for in any appraisal.
Stamp duty surcharge: The additional rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax charged on additional residential properties (buy-to-lets and second homes) on top of the standard rates — a major buying cost for investors.
Bridging loan: Short-term, interest-heavy finance used to buy and refurbish quickly (often where a property won't mortgage in its current state), repaid by a sale or refinance. Bridging loan calculator →
Exit (exit strategy): How a short-term loan gets repaid — the two main exits are a sale (flip) or a refinance onto a longer-term mortgage (BRRR). Lenders want to see a credible exit before lending.
Comparable (comp): A recently sold, similar nearby property used to evidence a property's value or GDV. Sold prices (e.g. from Land Registry) carry more weight than asking prices.
Monitoring surveyor: A surveyor appointed by the lender on a refurbishment facility to inspect progress and sign off each phase before a drawdown is released. Their fee is usually a borrower cost. Quantity surveyor cost →
Retention: A small percentage of a contractor's payment held back until snagging is complete and the work is confirmed sound — protection against defects.
Back-to-brick: A full, heavy refurbishment that strips a property back to its shell — new wiring, plumbing, heating, plaster, floors and often structure. The most expensive refurb level. Refurbishment cost calculator →
Uplift: The increase in a property's value created by the works — the difference between the price paid (plus costs) and the end value (GDV). The whole point of a value-add deal.

Ready to put these into practice? Browse the free calculators or build a schedule of works.