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How can you maximize your borrowing with Bridging Finance?

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It feels like forever since I’ve posted but here we are! With property prices starting to become more realistic, and interest rates on term mortgages falling, we are seeing plenty of purchases using bridging. So what are your options?

BORROWING FOR REFURB COSTS

This seems the obvious answer, why wouldn’t it be if the lender can fund the purchase and refurb? Well, it may not be for a couple of reasons…

The lender will always work back from your GDV and will lend 65-70% of this figure in total. So you need a profitable deal in its own right to achieve 70% on day one as well as funding all the refurb. This means that if planning is required (which you don’t yet have), or it’s an HMO conversion you could struggle.

Also, the costs are funded in arrears, so you need a working capital of around £25k (minimum) to start the works.

With valuers being cautious over a potential downturn in the market, the GDV you may achieve now before work has started may not reflect the value you would get at the end either. So bear that in mind when looking at your figures.

SO THE ALTERNATIVE – A HIGHER DAY-ONE LOAN

We’ve now got a number of options to maximize your day-one loan, rather than rely on funding for the works. The advantage of this type of loan is that you are less concerned with the GDV (although lenders do look at it), so you are more likely to achieve what you set out to.

We can lend up to 85% net day one for light refurbishments, and 80% for heavy refurbishments.

You would then need to fund the works, but with an additional 10-20% more than you would expect for a refurb loan (and bearing in mind the initial outlay to start the works), this may not be that much less in total.

The options available and most relevant will depend on your total costs, profit, and split between purchase and refurb costs so I’m happy to have a chat about how it would work for your deal!

Should I take out a variable rate mortgage?

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I feel like we need a daily update at the moment!

The latest from late yesterday was that swap rates are settling, and we can see this morning that more fixed rates are creeping back in today.

But… there is still talk of further base rate changes, and two specialist lenders have already stopped lending on existing cases that aren’t already offered. So there is still much uncertainty.

There are some variable rates around though, and they are much less likely to be pulled, so you have more certainty over completion – although not on the rate you will be completing on!!

Is it a good idea??

  • You’ve got to take a calculated risk. What could the rate go up to and does it still work on that basis?
  • Are you getting the property at a good price so the risk is worth taking?
  • What are the alternatives? If you need to redeem a bridge or complete something you’ve committed to then this may be the best of not very many options!

As always, give me a call if you want to chat anything through…

CASE STUDY: A Broker Who Puts Everything Into Your First Project

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When you put everything into your first project and need a broker who does the same!

The client came to us having exhausted other brokers who were unable to help with what they needed in the timescales required.

They had refurbishment experience, but not conversions. And owned no property currently, having never been a landlord.

The property was in an Article 4 area, with no planning approved.

The clients want to convert it into a 7-bedroom (or 6 as a backup) HMO

Money is tight and this is their life savings. With only one income and a young family to look after – it doesn’t get more stressful!!

So what did we do?

We went through the lending options available and needed a refurbishment bridge as they could not complete it without these funds. We found a lender who was happy with their limited experience.

As always, we ensured there were options for the exit once the works are completed. They need to keep the property for income.

The next hurdle?

The next challenge was PLANNING. We needed the lender to be comfortable with the lack of planning.

However, the GDV as a refurbished house was not profitable and therefore not really viable!

After working closely with the lender, and reviewing and amending the schedule of works, we were finally able to achieve a day one drawdown sufficient to complete the purchase.

How do you value mixed use properties?

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Commercial Element is nearly always a vacant value. Unless you have a blue chip company on a long lease when we can sometimes achieve a market value.

Residential Element will be valued using similar comparable properties in the area. Remember properties above commercial are usually less desirable.

If you have an HMO as part of the residential part, you may be able to achieve an uplift on the bricks and mortar with a yield-based or hybrid valuation. This is where you can benefit!

You will either end up with an aggregate value (the sum of the individual parts) or a block value for the building, where around 10% is deducted from the aggregate value.

Which figure the lender uses will be up to the valuer and their comments. Can the property be broken up and sold individually? And would there be sufficient demand to do this in 12 months?

 

Is there an alternative to bridging finance?

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If you have a property that is mortgageable, but you need to do some work in order to let it out, do you need to use bridging?

We have another option!

It works well if you are looking at a smaller refurbishment where you don’t think you’ll get enough uplift to warrant paying for a bridge.

It is also an option if you are looking for a long-term project requiring planning for example if you are can wait to start bigger works.

It allows you to buy a property where you need to carry out a light refurbishment in order to let it out.

The valuer will see the schedule of works and can take this into account when looking at the value as well as the market rent figures. This is especially important when you need a higher rental figure to make the deal work.

This can work for residential as well as semi-commercial properties where they are tired and in need of a refurbishment before you can let them out.

You can use it for existing HMOs where there is a license in place but it needs some refurbishment to attract more rent or different tenants.

We can use a desktop valuation in the majority of cases, enabling a quick completion where required.

There is a 2-year fixed with a 2-year tie-in, allowing an opportunity to reassess what you are looking to do at that point. They also have a 5-year fixed with a 2-year tie-in, offering you some more flexibility.

There are some things to be aware of, as always:

  • The property does need to be habitable in its current condition.
  • No heavy refurbishment or planning.
  • You will need to show you’ve got 3 months’ mortgage payments in the bank to cover the refurbishment period.
  • They are lending based on their current condition and value, so there’s no room for uplift at this point.

How can leases add value to your property?

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Splitting Leases

This is one of the most common ‘tips’ you get from property mentors and courses – buy freehold flats and create leases to add value! It doesn’t always work like that, as the way lenders value property is based on how it is likely to be sold, and if that is as a block then you won’t get the uplift on a revaluation. There are, however, ways you can do this. You could look at smaller blocks, where they could be split off and sold easily.

Generally, you need to consider the size of them, demand, split utilities, and access. The ideal would also be to carry out a refurbishment or wait a period of time before refinancing them as you need the valuer to disregard the purchase price as a comparable. You can also look at splitting houses into flats; additional flats into blocks and rearranging space to create more units. These can all create value through the sale or refinance of the properties.

Extending Leases

There is a large quantity of flats around the country with short leases which struggle to sell. This is due to most people (buying property to live in) not understanding the lease extension process, as well as a need for a longer capital repayment mortgage. When you are basing your maximum mortgage on your income, and the mortgage is capital repayment, you usually need this over a long period of time (age depending!) to make it affordable. Generally, you need 55 years left on the lease at the end of the mortgage so if you have, for example, 68 years currently you could only look at a 13-year term.

The difference with an investment mortgage is that you are able to look at it on an interest-only basis. This means that the monthly payment is the same if it’s one or 25 years. You do need to find an alternative way to repay the mortgage and be aware that the full balance will remain at the end of the term, but this does give you options. You could, with the example above, take the mortgage over 13 years and in that time increase the lease length and then refinance. This could increase the value and allow you to take some money out of the property. This is a great opportunity as an investor that homeowners just don’t have.

Share of Freehold

This is another misconception among many potential homeowners. Again, they see a short lease and assume it is expensive to extend it, or they won’t get a mortgage on it. The same principle applies as above with your mortgage term, but it can be much easier to extend your lease. All leaseholders have to agree and all leases need to be extended simultaneously, but it is much cheaper than extending a standard lease.

Paying High Interest Rate To Control Valuation

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Is it worth paying a higher interest rate to have more control over your valuation?

This is a subject that I discuss frequently with clients, so I thought it deserved a spot on the grid!

When clients call me to discuss what products are available for a project, the conversation about valuation methodology is becoming more important – and as you should know by now we really aren’t a rate-driven broker so there are always options to cover this as well as the route of least resistance.

So what can you achieve from your valuation when you aren’t focused on the cheapest option?

The aggregate value for blocks of flats up to 10 units – can add 10% to your value

A commercial or hybrid valuation on small HMOs (5-6 bedrooms). We have seen again and again recently how this means you can pull so much more out of your property.

How does it work?

  • We have access to the lender’s panel of surveyors and are able to give you a few quotes for you to decide who to use.
  • Due to our experience, we are able to let you know who we have used before and our positive and negative experiences with them!
  • We can ask for a quote from a valuer you have used previously if they are on the panel.
  • You are able to call the surveyors to gauge their methodology for your property.

How does that compare to a standard lender?

  • High street and fewer specialist lenders won’t have any of these options.
  • You pay less for your valuation, in some instances, they are free (with an admin fee).
  • But you aren’t given any options, and it’s likely that Allied or Connells will carry out the valuation.
  • They are great surveyors for standard residential properties, but anything outside of that needs a more specialist company to look at their true value.

CASE STUDY: Lenders’ Flexibility In An Uncertain Market.

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Why flexibility with your lender is so important in an uncertain market?

 

What do I mean by FLEXIBILITY?

Most lenders will tie you into a product with early repayment charges if you leave it.

The only alternative would be a tracker rate, but they are rare and expensive. And don’t offer you much certainty with the base rate on the move currently!

So, how can you get the flexibility to refinance when you need to??

Why would I need flexibility??

With an uncertain market, would you like the option to refinance and pull some more money out at a point that suits the market rather than a fixed date?

Do you want to do some work on the property, but not yet so you don’t want to put it on a bridge yet?

Is your property tenanted so you can’t complete work until some point in the future?

How does it work?

We have a lender who will allow you to refinance with them at any point and they will waive the early repayment charges.

They will offer a new product, with a reduced arrangement fee and legal, but a new valuation (the one thing you need!)

This allows you true flexibility when you choose to refinance, and you can move to and from a bridge to carry out work at a much lower cost.

 

As an example…

A client bought a property to convert to a 6-bedroom HMO with a bridge (before they knew about us!)

They refinanced to a term mortgage with a yield-based valuation in December 2020 when the market was so uncertain and valuations weren’t the best! The value was £570,000 (in Bath)

They are currently refinancing now that valuations are more positive and we have just got the new figure of £695,000.

We lent 75% of both figures, so that’s over £90,000 released for another project!

More options for first time landlords!

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We’ve had some criteria changes this week…

The unicorn product for first-time HMO landlords is now an option!!

There will always be some sacrifices with your first HMO as a first-time landlord. 

But now, achieving a hybrid or yield-based valuation is not one of them! 

We now have an option, with a competitive interest rate and terms.

This is really a game changer for your first project. 

As always, please give me a call and I can talk through the figures and see how it can all work.

 

CASE STUDY: Lack of Planning and Refurbishment Funds

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Getting around the lack of planning and refurbishment funds.

Ryan came to me in August last year with a property he wanted to convert to an HMO. It easily converted to a 6 bed but had an option as a 7 bedroom with a rear extension. He didn’t have planning before the purchase, and only had funds available for the 6-bedroom option due to other commitments.

So we had to think outside the box a bit!

Stage One

The first part was simple; we arranged a bridge for the purchase of the property with the intention of converting it to a 6-bedroom HMO. Ryan had the funds for this, and it didn’t require planning so the lender was happy too. We were able to lend 75% of the purchase price and Ryan funded the refurbishment.

Stage Two

When the refurb was almost finished, planning was approved for both the rear extension and the change of use to a 7-bedroom HMO.

We used the same lender as the original bridge to refinance into another bridge to raise funds for this. This meant a reduced arrangement fee, valuation, and legal costs. It allowed the client to raise an additional £80,000 for the work (and also gave him the deposit to purchase another property!)

Stage Three

Another big advantage of this structure is that the lender could see that the client had followed the correct process. Ryan didn’t push the boundaries of what you are allowed to do on the original bridge and therefore wanted to keep him as a client.

Through the relationship we have with this bank, we were able to ensure the refinance was a smooth process with the same lender. Again this meant a reduced arrangement fee, valuation, and legal costs. We were able to lend 75% of the market value, and use a commercial valuation.

Summary of the numbers:

Purchase price £135,000

Initial refurb cost: £85,000

Valuation at the first refinance: £260,000

Additional refurb costs: £30,000

End value: £300,000.