Case file:

• Borrower required £400k to exit a bridging loan from another lender
• Property worth £700k and let to 5 separate tenants
• Roma researched HMO licensing in the London Borough of Southwark
• Borrower will require a licence early in 2016, but granted a grace period
• Roma met borrower twice in London to finalise the transaction details

Roma Finance, the Manchester-based bridging and development lender, has succeeded in lending £400,000 over 6 months with a five day completion to a borrower to repay an existing bridging lender to give them more time to find low cost longer term finance.

The borrower’s discounted rate with their existing lender had come to an end but she wasn’t in a position to redeem their loan.

As is the case with all their borrowers, Roma Finance met theborrower to get an understanding of their situation and how best to structure the loan in order to ensure that the borrower could successfully repay Roma Finance’s loan within the required timescale.

The security property comprised a South London mid-terrace Victorian BTL residence worth £700,000, currently let to five separate tenants on Assured Short Term Tenancy Agreements. In order to help the borrower secure an exit from their bridging loan, Roma Finance researched the requirements for HMO Licenses in Southwark and found that from January 2016, the property would require a license. Therefore as part of the re-bridge, the borrower agreed to apply for a licence within three months of the new loan completing in order to help her obtain a low cost BTL mortgage.

Scott Marshall, Operations Director at Roma Finance, said: ”Re-bridging other lenders loans has become quite a popular way of providing a borrower with more time to resolve their bridging finance debt while still benefitting from the speed and advantages of short term finance. “As usual we went above and beyond what is normally done by a lender to complete a loan, by not only meeting the borrower but also by researching the HMO regulations to help the borrower obtain an exit from our loan. That’s the Roma Finance way.”

The borrower was introduced to Roma Finance by Geoff Platts of Lerwick Group, who commented: “I knew Roma were potentially the right lender to look at a re-bridge case such as this. They were fast, with a five day completion and still took the time and trouble to assist the borrower with valuable HMO licensing information that helped seal the deal. Roma Finance delivered the solution, much to the delight of the borrower.”