Renovation Budget Audit: Contingency, Cash Flow and Overruns
Test a renovation budget before you commit.
Added October 15, 2026. Written with AI assistance and checked for clarity and placeholders; not reviewed by a lawyer, accountant, clinician or other professional. How these prompts are made
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[VERIFY] is an editorial flag, not a blank to fill. Wherever the prompt shows [VERIFY], check that item against a reliable source before you use it (what [VERIFY] means).
Audit my renovation budget. The budget by line: [BUDGET_LINES]. Funds available and timing: [FUNDS_AND_TIMING]. Contracts or quotes in place: [CONTRACTS_AND_QUOTES]. Age and condition of the property: [PROPERTY_CONDITION]. Check that the lines add up and that every cost category is present (design fees, permits, structural, services, finishes, fixtures, appliances, disposal, temporary accommodation, insurance changes, furniture). Test the contingency (percentage of build cost and absolute amount) against the property age and the number of unknowns, showing the arithmetic. Build a monthly cash-flow table showing when payments fall due and whether funds are enough each month. Run an overrun test: what happens if costs rise 15 percent or the work takes two months longer. Identify items to defer and a decision order if I must cut. This is a review of numbers, not financial advice. Mark costs and payment terms as [VERIFY]. Add a worked contingency test: a 40,000 build in a 90-year-old house at 15 percent is 6,000; at 20 percent it is 8,000; and a 15 percent overrun on the whole budget is 6,000, so a 5,000 contingency would be thin. Include a decision rule for what to cut first.
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