Self build homes and conversions are ever more popular, but finding the finance for them is unlikely to become a regular part of what most brokers do, rather it is something a broker may be faced with once every few months at most.
Rachel Pyne is group operations director of BuildLoan
Self build homes and conversions are ever more popular, but finding the finance for them is unlikely to become a regular part of what most brokers do, rather it is something a broker may be faced with once every few months at most.
When advising a client it can therefore be hard to know where to start. With hundreds of different factors to bear in mind, finding the right finance for self build and custom build homes can be a minefield.
How does a broker possibly check which lenders will lend in which circumstances? For example, some lenders only lend on traditionally built properties while others will lend on timber frames and modular construction.
Some materials need to be paid for upfront, so the borrower may well need money at the start, or in staged payments depending on how they are financing the build. Then there are factors such as the cladding, the slope or construction of the roof, or whether the property has a private water supply.
Every lender has a different attitude which can be incredibly hard to navigate for a broker that does not deal with it every day. Knowledge Bank is therefore something this market really needs. It will make every broker’s life so much easier as they will now be able to find information quickly and easily.
For BuildLoan, Knowledge Bank extends the support that we already provide to brokers and gives easier access to BuildLoan’s expertise and our helpdesk. This partnership is all about supporting brokers to help them to know where to place business such as self build, renovations, rebuilds and conversions.
While Knowledge Bank is invaluable in these specialist areas, as criteria proliferates it is just as vital even for the most mainstream mortgages and is what the industry has been crying out for.
