At this point the broker was considering using another lender, but quickly realised that many lenders would only lend on the value of the property as the project progressed, not on its final value after work was completed, which would not provide enough finance to finish the conversion. Having seen work done so far on the completed apartments and realising the full potential of the income when the refurbishment was complete, Roma Finance stepped in again to provide the additional funding in stages as the work progressed, but based on the ultimate value of the property.

Roma Finance also built up a good relationship with the broker, who was paid the same as a gold packager with other lenders, despite Roma Finance putting in a lot of project management time to get the conversion funded.

With the work done, the valuations are impressive. The site as a whole is worth £1.8m, with the 6 flats worth £200,000 each and the remainder of the mansion is a substantial family home valued at £600,000.

However, for now they are not for sale. The rental income will be used by the borrower  to provide long term income into retirement. The growth in asset value may be realised at a later stage as the house or one or more of the flats could be sold separately to release funds if required.

The borrower said “I was very impressed with Roma’s speed and attentiveness. Unlike other lenders in this space they made significant efforts to get to know me and fully understand the project.”

Scott Marshall, Director at Roma Finance said: “This was a very satisfying case to work on as it demonstrated the value of our individual approach to lending by working closely with the broker and the borrower  to provide separate finance as the case progressed, with the objective of getting the most out of two renovations”.

“Releasing funds in stages is also something we have experience in and could monitor progress as we released extra funding. Not many lenders would have spent so much time on a case to ensure a viable outcome for the borrower, but this is what we pride ourselves on at Roma Finance as every case is different and requires individual attention.”