The brakes aren't bad as such just not as good as they could be...they seem to be coming back in so they might just need bedding in.
I don't want to think how much I spent - £1500 for chassis, £200 on fasteners and other bits, £100 on paint, £100 on wiring loom and connectors, £ X,000 on loss of earnings! I could have got another for less but then it would probably be another with a dodgy chassis! It's certainly not an investment but I hope to keep it for a good long while.