Case File:

• Borrower had agreed a debt forgiveness deal at the start of May and had to repay by Friday 29th May 2015
• Roma Finance was contacted on Wednesday 27th May because the borrower had been let down by 2 other lenders’ slow credit process 
• The borrower required £365k otherwise the debt would have reverted back to £750,000 Roma Finance met the borrower, spoke to the valuer and completed all the legal work within 48 hours
• Roma Finance, the Manchester-based specialist bridging lender, met an extremely tight deadline to save a borrower almost £400,000 in a complex debt forgiveness case, when a borrower found themselves let down by two other lenders.

During the borrower meeting on Wednesday evening 27th May, Roma were told how the original mortgage was miss-sold as unbeknown to theborrower the bank had sold them a £750,000 hedged foreign exchange mortgage product on their two buy to let properties. The borrower needed to pay off the bank who owned this debt and had been to two other lenders who promised much but delivered little and time was running out. The borrower only had until 4pm Friday to repay the bank £365,000 or else the debt would go back to £750,000. The clock was ticking. The valuations on the 4 properties had already been done and because of this we knew they were good security at the right amount.

The solicitors were instructed first thing Thursday morning and to the borrower’s delight Roma Finance released the funds on Thursday afternoon in readiness for completion on Friday morning.

Scott Marshall commented: “Meeting the customer was critical to this deal and that discussion helped us understand the background & dynamics of the transaction. The borrower had owned the properties for nearly 10 years and they represented good security, so I was happy to progress the case in order to meet the tight deadline. The borrower, who had a strong profile, had agreed a debt forgiveness amount with the bank and had a good strategy for exiting our bridge.

“It was then a case of going flat out to meet the deadline, using the slick processes we have and our trusted legal partners who worked incredibly fast, I liaised with the bank to put us in the position of being able to lend and at the same time save the borrower almost £400,000. This case shows the importance of meeting every borrower and looking at every case from every angle to get the deal over the line. This is the Roma way.”

Because of the nature of this particular case, the borrower and broker have both requested anonymity, but separately commented: The borrower, Mr G emailed: “Thanks all for all your hard work over the last couple of days. Romadiscussed the case late Wednesday then delivered to plan. Great stuff chaps. Well done.”

The broker said: “I would like to thank Roma Finance for arranging this bridging facility in 48 hours after we were badly let down by one of the larger bridging lenders. The service my borrowers and I received was excellent and I am very pleased with their whole attitude to conducting business professionally and efficiently. This is how it should be and I’ll surely will be using your services again in the future. Keep it up.”