Roma was approached by Charleston Financial Services for their customer, who had planning permission to convert a bungalow with a large garden space into two semi-detached properties.

The development was situated in a popular village with the benefit of all local amenities. Similar properties in the area were on the market for between £425,000 – £490,000, giving the valuer a good idea of the approximate cost per property.

The loan amount over 15 months for the development was £550,000, with the intended exit being to refinance onto a buy to let mortgage at 75% loan to value.

The initial valuation for the bungalow was confirmed at £450,000 with an estimated GDV of £915,000. Once the development was complete, a second valuation provided a new value of £950,000.

After redeeming the loan through Roma’s 5 year term product and the Community Infrastructure (CIL) had been paid, the borrower had £88,000 of additional funds to put towards their next project.

Due to the pandemic, the council agreed to accept a CIL payment after the development was completed, which meant that the borrower could avoid being charged any additional fees. Roma went above and beyond and assisted with this payment in-house, which took the responsibility away from the solicitors.

Daniel Hill, Senior Key Account Manager at Roma commented “We have done a number of cases with Charleston Financial Services and their knowledge and attention to detail makes them fantastic to work with. The borrowers were very experienced in property development and the project was very straightforward, so there was a great outcome for all parties involved.”

Jack Ainsworth, Senior Underwriter at Roma added, “It was apparent from the day one underwrite that the customers were experienced and capable of bringing the project in on time and on budget having recently completed two new-build units immediately behind the development site. This was an enjoyable transaction to work on with everybody on the same page and we were able to complete without any hitches. The successful completion of this project led to numerous other projects with the borrower and I look forward to the next one.”

James Hardwick, Managing Director of Charleston Financial Services also added, “The team at Roma Finance went above and beyond for our customer, especially with the CIL payment during COVID. They were very keen to assist with the project’s completion which our customer really appreciated. It ended with a great result for everybody involved throughout.”

Both properties are now occupied with tenants.