kirsty_c

Some relationship banks are keen to retain clients having put work into a deal, however most lenders don't take it personal if a client leaves - they get their funds back and make money on the ERC's (unless its a no ERC product where the lender expects you may leave and the original rate would have been higher to compensate anyway). We do a lot of bridging finance for investors looking to add value to a property by refurbing and subsequently refinancing onto a BTL facility post works taking advantage of the uplift in value. There's a significant portion of the finance market which exists to accommodate this scenario and even with the added costs of bridging some projects do make decent financial gains. If you are looking to fund the initial purchase, some BTL lenders will allow very light refurb post drawdown, but such light improvements are unlikely to add much value. For heavier refurb projects, bridging/refurb finance is needed as you will struggle to get a normal BTL funder on board given they will not be comfortable with you ripping up their security property post drawdown - they want it ready to rent and producing income ASAP to service their loan repayments. Addressing the original question - bridging finance is by nature more expensive on rate and you have to factor in arrangement/valuation/solicitors fees for the bridge loan and subsequent BTL. There are a few lenders who will do bridging finance and switch to a term loan post refurb (as Lilla mentioned above) which will save some costs but its not always the best solution for every scenario. If you can cash purchase and fund the refurb, you cut out the expensive initial funding costs and can look to refinance at full market value once works are completed. Without client/deal specifics its hard to summarise in general terms, every project and deal I work on is different but this is where a decent broker on side can really add value

As the guys above have covered, typical BTL funders will not have appetite for this kind of lending, therefore a charity cannot approach these lenders and apply for standard products in the same way an individual or SPV company can. There are some specialist lenders who are very much active in the charity space, so being a charity borrower does not exclude you from being considered for lending. As ever with more unusual transactions the devil is in the detail and support from these lenders would depend on the overall nature of the transaction and what your objectives are.

We do lots of semi commercial lending and work with a couple of lenders who would consider funding a first time landlord, however echoing the above comments the rates will not be cheap and the rest of the application would have to be strong to get the lender on board. For a first project the numbers may well not stack up but happy to take a look if you would like to send me some details. Regards Kirsty

Hi Tracy I would be happy to assist with your financing if you are still on the hunt for a specialist broker. My contact details are below if you would like to reach out. Regards Kirsty

If you are after 75% LTV on semi commercial there are not that many options out there, especially if the commercial value is over 40% of the security. Interest only is available with some lenders. Empty should be fine on a purchase, providing there is letting demand in the location and it is in lettable condition, ready to market and start generating income post purchase. Usage can affect decisioning also - there is reduced appetite to assist if the commercial is a cafe/food/takeaway business. Commercial is a totally different lending area which has its own specialties and different risks altogether which most regular BTL funders are simply not geared up to accommodate. Some mitigate that risk and lack of commercial appetite by offering semi commercial products but have the 60/40 rule, which is based on ignoring the commercial part altogether and the residential part covering the debt servicing requirements alone. Rates in the 5-6% region should be expected at 75% at the values you mentioned. Rates naturally increase when higher leverages are requested and 75% is at the top end of product offerings in this sector. Happy to assist you with this if you have a target property in mind, feel free to reach out and I will run through available options with you.

Use Checkmyfile.com - its shows what data is held with each of the three UK credit agencies rather than just one like most. Whilst you would think the same data would correlate across the three agencies there are often differences. Make sure you dispute any entries which do not look right - the service will help you with this if needed. You get a 30 day free trial if you don't want to pay for it long term.

Or maybe this is Barclays policy, but you got lucky that someone didn't ask Was your LTV low by any chance? if so maybe the requirements are more relaxed. I'm aware its policy with many lenders and having worked in underwriting teams it doesn't sound like the kind of condition an underwriter would put in just to get comfortable approving.

Lenders have Anti money laundering regulations to comply with and like to 'follow the money' to be comfortable when lending. Without a target property identified the lender can't be certain you would use the funds for that purpose. Quite a lot of lenders have this policy. There are some specialist BTL lenders who aren't as fussy about it, but you should expect the rates to be higher. Most applicants would make the application once a target property has been identified - the urgency to make this happen to coincide with your fixed rate expiry is unfortunate timing but you may have to swallow some payments on the current loan at SVR until such time you find a suitable property to purchase, at which time you can proceed with the exercise.

I think the question will come down to if you can follow the money. Example Your transfer £10,000 into Bitcoin and Litecoin from your own bank account over 4 years the coin values rise and your stake is now worth £30,000 You then withdraw the £30,000 for your deposit. I can't see how this would differ from any other risk based investment.

Not sure if you spoke to Ricky, but for info on the forum we also specialize in development finance and are happy to look into any enquiries. COVID has indeed affected all kinds of businesses, but there are still plenty of lenders out there with appetite to support viable development schemes. Regards Kirsty

BTL products are for finished assets that are ready to move a tenant into and generate income. Lenders will not approve BTL loan on the property if you are planning a full refurbishment. You will need some kind of refurb/development bridging finance to raise the project funds (initially on the one whole title) and then once finished you can have a lawyer do the necessary title adjustments and refinance onto BTL lending as two separate properties. Happy to look into this in more detail for you and see what options you might have if you want to send me some details. Regards Kirsty

Agree with the above - the lenders who offer to fund refurb works will not release the money up front, it is paid in arrears. The benefit of doing this is a) Depending on the size of refurb loan, this can be split in to tranches. Ie if the refurb costs are 75k, but you only have 25k in the bank you could ask for this to be funded in 3 stages. You do 25k of works, get the valuer out to confirm you are on track, and then the lender will advance the next 25k which will put capital in the bank for the next stage... etc. Its a way of recycling a smaller amount of money to meet the larger costs of a project you otherwise couldn't fund outright. b) Some works/invoices will require be due payment post works which is where the timing of the lenders tranche can come in at the time the invoice needs settlement. You will usually need some of your own capital in the mix somewhere in the process - this is where your broker should have been clear how the product worked at the outset.

I concur with the above guys that these requirements are very normal when you get to 4 or more properties. A low property value/loan is irrelevant. Before the credit crunch, lenders were offering very generous BTL deals at high LTV's (around 85%) and this coupled with falling property prices put some portfolio's into a stressed position post credit crunch. The theory is to ensure the lender isn't providing new lending into a portfolio already highly stressed, and to ensure any new property will not be propping up a portfolio which isn't performing. Regards the wealth statement, I would say they are just looking to follow the money, not necessarily seeing statements for every transaction. They want to understand the story of how you got from nothing to what you have now.

I'd be happy to discuss your requirements with you and see if I can assist. Please feel free to contact me if you wish, details below :)

Hi Alan We have some lenders who will fund mixed use properties. Happy to have a chat around this if you want to get in touch (contact details below) Regards, Kirsty