Bricks & Yield vs Broker Packs and Appraisal Spreadsheets
Lender or broker Excel packs are tailored to credit decisions. Bricks & Yield is tailored to your investment discipline before you reach that gate.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Bricks & Yield (Pre-Offer Underwriting Workspace)
A structured, linked UK deal model designed to find your true Maximum Purchase Price (MPP) and hold discipline.
- Linked Four Pillars: Changes to refurb, AST/HMO rent, or exits instantly update your cash-left-in and returns.
- MPP Engine: Reverse-engineered price limits with clear traffic lights prevent offer-stage overpayment.
- Visual Deal Pipeline: Drag deals through Screening, Needs Evidence, Investor Ready, Shared, and Closed on one unified dashboard.
- Core Focus: You and your team, across the whole deal lifecycle.
Broker / lender packs (Bespoke Grid / Sheets)
Lender or broker Excel packs are tailored to credit decisions. Bricks & Yield is tailored to your investment discipline before you reach that gate.
When to use Broker / lender packs:
- You are at submission stage and the lender’s template is mandatory.
- Core Focus: Underwriter-friendly layout for a specific lender or product.
You will often encounter spreadsheet templates from brokers or banks. Those packs optimise for their underwriting questions, not necessarily for your full investor view (HMO vs single let, sensitivity tables, or pipeline tracking).
Bricks & Yield helps you arrive at coherent assumptions first; you may still transpose outputs into lender formats when required.
Feature Comparison Matrix
Investor-led model versus credit-pack format.
| Feature / Capability | Bricks & Yield | Broker / lender packs |
|---|---|---|
| Private investor scenarios before lender narrative | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Partial |
| Many deals at different pipeline stages | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Partial |
| Lender-ready field layout and policy alignment | ⚠️ Partial | ✅ Yes |
| Room-level HMO narratives where supported | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Partial |
| Linked pillars independent of one bank’s template | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Partial |
| Submission-mandatory credit pack | ⚠️ Partial | ✅ Yes |
Detailed Comparison
| Comparison Metric | Bricks & Yield | Broker / lender packs |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | You and your team, across the whole deal lifecycle. | Underwriter-friendly layout for a specific lender or product. |
| Flexibility | Explore scenarios privately before committing to a lender narrative. | Fields are often fixed to credit policy. |
| Pipeline | Many deals at different stages. | Usually one facility at a time. |
| HMO complexity | Room-level narratives where the product supports them. | May simplify or omit investor-specific comparisons. |
Which should you choose?
When the broker pack is primary
You are at submission stage and the lender’s template is mandatory.
When Bricks & Yield comes first
You want internal consistency long before you ask a bank to underwrite your story.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will UK mortgage brokers and lenders accept deal summaries from Bricks & Yield?
While lenders eventually require their own specific **lender credit pack** formats, presenting a clean, professional investor pack PDF from Bricks & Yield shows disciplined underwriting. It ensures your core assumptions (refurb budgets, stress-tested ICR, refinance yields) are logically aligned, making it much easier for a **buy to let mortgage broker** to understand the deal narrative.
How does Bricks & Yield handle bridging finance calculations?
Bricks & Yield includes built-in cost modelling for bridging loans, including arrangement fees, interest retention, and exit fees. By mapping these on the same canvas as your refurb works and final refinance, you can check if your cash-to-complete and exit LTV margins are viable before applying for funding.
Can I use Bricks & Yield to calculate cash-to-complete before seeking a broker pack?
Yes. Bricks & Yield calculates your total cash-to-complete (including purchase deposit, stamp duty surcharge, broker fees, works budget, and holding costs) dynamically, so you know exactly how much cash is required before you engage a broker or commit to a bridge loan.