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Development finance
Ground-up, conversion and part-built schemes, from site purchase to exit.
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Development finance
Which cap binds, loan to cost or loan to GDV, and the real day-one equity.
Build to Rent development
Underwritten on stabilised yield and DSCR, not sales rate.
Mezzanine and stretched senior
The gap between senior LTC and what you can fund, and the true blended cost.
Heavy refurbishment and conversion
Where refurbishment stops being a bridge: structure, change of use, drawdowns.
Part-built and rescue finance
Valuing an unfinished asset when the contractor has gone.
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Bridging finance
Short-term debt where the deadline, the asset or the exit will not wait.
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Purchase bridge
Completing before the money is in place: chain breaks, tight deadlines, unmortgageable stock.
Development exit finance
Off development debt at a lower rate, to buy sales time and release equity.
Auction finance
A 28-day clock, and what must be in place before the hammer falls.
Pre-planning and planning gain
Lending against current value with planning upside.
Below market value purchase
Day-one lending against open market value rather than price.
Second charge and capital raising
Raising against existing assets, and first-charge consent.
Light refurbishment finance
Bridge plus refurb tranche, and where the development boundary sits.
Also structuredBridge to let and refinance
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Mortgages and term finance
Long-term debt against income, once the asset is built, let or trading.
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Buy to let mortgages
ICR stress testing, limited company against personal, portfolio rules.
HMO mortgages
A higher cover test, licensing, and the two valuations a lender takes the lower of.
Commercial term, investment
Tenant covenant and lease term, and why DSCR sets the loan.
Commercial term, owner-occupier
Trading accounts and EBITDA rather than rent roll.
Portfolio refinance
Cross-collateralisation, and one facility against individual loans.
Stabilisation and term refinance
The income test replacing the GDV test, and the letting void before term debt engages.
Co-living and PBSA
An operational asset valued on income, and the operator covenant.
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Funding the business behind the property, secured on the ledger, the equipment or the covenant.
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Size the facility against site cost, build cost and GDV.
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Refinance the development facility and release equity at PC.
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What a bridge costs, and what actually clears on day one.
Refurbishment finance calculator
Fund the purchase and 100% of the works, with interest rolled to exit.
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The rent a buy to let must achieve to clear a lender's cover test.
Commercial mortgage calculator
What a commercial property's income will support, and what it costs.
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Bridge it › Auction finance
An auction contract exchanges when the hammer falls. The deposit is committed at that moment and completion is usually 28 days later, which is shorter than most lenders' ordinary process and considerably shorter than a valuation, a legal pack review and an offer comfortably allow.
That is the whole problem. The finance is not unusually complicated; the timetable is. Missing completion does not simply unwind the purchase, it forfeits the deposit and can leave you liable for the shortfall if the lot is resold for less.
The work that makes an auction purchase safe happens before the auction, not after. The legal pack, the title, the tenancies and the condition all need reading while you can still walk away, and the funding needs to be agreed in principle against that specific lot rather than against a general appetite to lend.
Work out what clears on day one before you bid.
Terms agreed before you bid
We take the lot to lenders ahead of the auction so the answer, the number and the conditions are known before the hammer falls rather than discovered afterwards.
The legal pack read as a lender will read it
Short leases, absent title guarantee, unusual covenants and sitting tenants are all priced or declined by lenders, and all sit in the pack you can read for free days beforehand.
Valuation instructed on day one
The valuation is the long pole in a 28 day timetable. Instructing it the morning after the auction, sometimes before, is what keeps the completion date real.
A defined exit from the outset
Auction finance is short-dated by design. Whether the exit is a sale, a refinance to term or a refurbishment and then either, it needs to be credible at the point you borrow, not worked out later.
Which lenders play here
Unregulated bridging lenders, most of whom run a dedicated auction desk with a shortened process. Unregulated lending is roughly three quarters of the bridging market, so this is a competitive space, and speed and certainty matter more than a few basis points on the rate.
28 days
Typical completion window
75%
Gross LTV, up to
65-70%
Net day one advance
Day one
Valuation instructed
Indicative, and not an offer. What a lender will actually do depends on the scheme, the borrower and a full valuation.
What to have ready
Bring these and we can tell you where you stand.
Each one is something a lender will ask for. Having it early is the difference between a fast answer and a slow one.
✓The lot number, guide price and the auction date
✓The legal pack, in full, ideally before you bid
✓Your maximum bid and the deposit you are committing
✓What you intend to do with it: hold, refurbish, sell or let
✓Your exit, and evidence it is achievable inside the term
✓Proof of funds for the deposit and for the shortfall the loan will not cover
Related
Worth reading on this
Article
How Bridging Works: Term, Interest and the Exit
Article
What is Heavy Refurbishment Finance and When Does it Become More Than a Refurb?
Article
How to Finance a Development Site Acquisition
Next
Related in this pillar.
Common questions
The questions this product raises.
What happens if I can't complete within 28 days?
You lose the deposit, which became committed when the hammer fell. If the seller then resells the lot for less, you can also be liable for the shortfall. The finance is rarely the hard part of an auction purchase. The timetable is, which is why the work is done before you bid.
Can I have the finance agreed before the auction?
Yes, and you should. We take the specific lot to lenders ahead of the sale, so the answer, the loan amount and the conditions are known before you bid. The valuation is the longest part of a 28 day timetable, so it is instructed the morning after the auction, sometimes before.
How much will a lender advance on an auction purchase?
Up to 75% of value gross. The amount available on day one is lower, because fees and interest come out of the loan. You fund the deposit and the gap between the advance and the price, so have proof of both before you bid.
What in the legal pack can stop a lender?
Short leases, no title guarantee, unusual covenants and sitting tenants. Lenders price or decline all four, and all four sit in the legal pack, which you can read for free days before the auction. Read it as a lender would while you can still walk away.
Bring us the detail.
Send what you have. We will tell you what is fundable and what needs work before anyone approaches a lender.
Specialist property finance for developers who want the numbers to survive underwriting.
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Fundingwise Limited is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and arranges unregulated finance only. That means lending secured against commercial property, or against residential property that is not, and will not be, occupied by the borrower or an immediate family member as a main residence. We do not advise on or arrange regulated mortgage contracts or regulated bridging loans. Because this finance is unregulated, FCA conduct rules and access to the Financial Ombudsman Service do not apply. Fundingwise Limited is registered in England and Wales, company number 13750788.