• Borrower needed funding to renovate a unique property
• Roma Finance lent borrower over £200k to help complete the renovation
• Funding also provided to property developer for refurbishment works and to pay off previous lender
• Property will be worth £700k and finished to high specification
• Roma Finance discovered a discrepancy in the planning permission missed by previous lenders which would have rendered the property unsaleable
• Packager Intelligent Loans introduced the case

Roma Finance, the Manchester-based bridging finance lender, has successfully lent over £200,000 for a borrower to refinance and renovate a property in an historic and desirable village in Gloucestershire. The property is a 3 storey, 4 bedroomed house which had been in the same family for over a century. It was already worth over £400,000 in its dilapidated state, but will be worth around £700,000 when completed and prepared for market.

The case was presented to Roma Finance by the packager Intelligent Loans, and £320,000 was already owed to another lender. The £200,000 was used in part to pay off the other lender, and the borrower entered a JV with a reputable local property developer for the remaining funds to complete the building works.

As Roma Finance were underwriting the case it became evident that the borrower hadn’t implemented a previous planning consent correctly. This would have left the borrower with a real problem had it not been highlighted as it would have left them with an unsaleable property.  Enquiries were made with the local authority and it was agreed that as a condition of the loan, the borrower would re-submit for the correct planning consent within 20 working days of completion.

The borrower intends to sell the property to pay off the bridging loan and should be left with a healthy surplus as the property is highly specified in a much sought after village location.

Scott Marshall, Lending Director at Roma Finance commented: “This case really demonstrates our individual approach to property bridging finance. Firstly, in order to enable the borrower to pay off their previous lender and renovate the property we entered into two funding arrangements. One with the borrower and one with a property developer who funded the works.

“Secondly, we noticed a discrepancy with the planning consent. This could have caused real problems for the borrower and the incumbent lender, but we were able to recommend a way for it to be resolved, which didn’t impact on the security of the loan,  and will clearly benefit the borrower and the developer as the property should be much easier to sell once the renovation has been completed. Not all bridging cases are the same, and this case shows that it’s important to have the expertise and experience to properly review and progress cases that aren’t always as straightforward as they at first seem.”

Tom Hill of Intelligent Loans (www.intelligent-loans.com), commented: “Roma Finance have always provided excellent customer service and once again did not disappoint. I was approached by a new introducer with a case that had gone around the houses with no packager or lender being able to complete the loan. The team at Roma Finance discussed the borrower’ situation in great detail and offered scenarios where they could resolve the issues other lenders couldn’t. Their flexible and common sense approach to lending is a breath of fresh air and regularly wins them deals over other bridging lenders.”