Regent Street, Plymouth

An existing investor client spotted a property at auction. They weren't in the area at the time and couldn't view it themselves, so they asked Craig to carry out a site visit and give them a straight read on the situation.

On site, Craig worked alongside the estate agent's appraisal to build a proper cost estimate for the works needed. That gave the client two numbers that actually mattered: what the property would be worth once the work was done, and what it would cost to get it there. From that, Craig set a maximum figure for the client to bid up to at auction, one that left enough contingency to absorb the unknowns that always come with buying at auction rather than through a normal sale.

The client bought under that ceiling, at a good price. The build ran as planned. No hidden extras, no surprises partway through. The two-storey apartment was finished to a high standard and relaunched as an Airbnb. It now commands a nightly rate well above the local average.

The point of this one isn't the tiles, even though they photograph beautifully. It's that the client had real numbers before they spent a penny, and the finished result is still earning above the market rate today. Most investors find out what a project actually costs somewhere around week six of the build. This one knew the ceiling before the hammer fell at auction, and the asset's still paying that decision back every night it's booked.