Roma Finance, the specialist bridging finance lender, promptly provided £248,500 bridging finance to allow a developer build two luxury detached houses.
The site, in Solihull, already had an old property on the land, but the developers’ plans required demolishing this dwelling and preparing the land for two new builds.
When Roma reviewed the transaction, introduced by Kind Commercial, it was clear that it was a viable project. The developers were experienced and had a good track record in turning around new houses from the ground up. Planning was also in place for the new properties which meant the site would be ready as soon as it was cleared. The site was available for just £355,000 with the completed new houses being valued at £1.7m on completion.
Roma visited the customer to help structure the transaction and quickly saw that it was an excellent development opportunity and quickly started the process of progressing the funds. The finance was in place in just nine days, for a £248,500 loan over 12 months, giving the developer enough time to prepare the site and arrange finance ready for the build of the two highly specified homes.
The exit from the bridging loan was longer term development finance with a mainstream lender.
In order to complete cases much quicker than the industry average, Roma Finance engaged with introducers and deliverability, speed of completion and simplicity were given as the three most important considerations when choosing a bridging lender.
As a result Roma has simplified, and speeded up, the application, valuation and legal requirements which means deals can now complete weeks ahead of other firms and introducers get their fee and commission much earlier.
The new Fast Track service has quickly become Roma’s standard way of working and is offered on all cases including changes of use, conversions, HMOs, buying at auction and lending against un-mortgageable properties.
Daniel Hill of Roma Finance said: “This case was well thought out by the developers and their business plan stood up to scrutiny in order for us to be confident to lend on this site. It was a viable proposal with the completed houses having a very high value compared to the cost of the site and preparatory works. As is usual on our cases, we visited the site and discussed the best way to structure the transaction with the customer.
“Working with experienced professionals meant that it was a very smooth transaction. Our new Fast Track process delivered the funds in just nine days meaning there were no delays to the customer in getting started on the site. We have worked with the customer previously and look forward to working with them again on future projects.”
The customer, Lee Edwards, commented: “I have used Roma Finance for the last few years on several transactions. Roma Finance’s customer service is simply the best and we wouldn’t use any other lender. Their level of service is first class and they work through the lending proposal in a very professional manner and keep things moving every step of the way, keeping us informed at each stage too. We were delighted that the bridging finance we needed was delivered so quickly.”
