Hope Capital Property Finance has reworked its Flip+ product to give borrowers a single route from acquisition through to refurbishment, as lenders continue to look for ways to remove friction from short-term property funding.
The specialist lender said the revised product is designed to link an initial bridging loan with a follow-on refurbishment facility under one lending relationship, with borrowers returning to the same underwriter when the loan moves to its next stage.
The proposition is aimed at borrowers purchasing residential, semi-commercial and commercial properties who expect to carry out works after acquisition. Under the structure, borrowers can take an initial bridging loan for up to 12 months and then move into a refurbishment facility for up to 18 months, without having to refinance with another lender or begin a fresh application elsewhere.
Hope Capital said the changes are intended to tackle one of the more awkward points in the specialist finance process, where borrowers can face delays, extra costs and fresh underwriting requirements when funding needs change mid-project.
Pricing starts from 0.80%, with lending available up to 75% LTV. The lender said the product can fund up to 100% of build costs, while the second facility fee applies only to any increase in borrowing on the Flip+ stage.
Hope Capital has also removed any minimum term at the point of flip and said there will be a single £1,250 admin fee, including legals, for the flip transaction. It added that refurbishment funds will typically be released on the same day to support works once the case progresses.
The lender said underwriting will be based on GDV and the fundamentals of the deal, rather than applying an automatic LTV reduction because of the structure alone.
Laura Carr (pictured, left) director of underwriting, compliance and stakeholder relations at Hope Capital Property Finance, says: “We anticipate there being a huge demand for this product and we’re looking forward to offering this to both our existing clients, as well as borrowers who are looking to access an initial loan, with plans to then undertake refurbishment works in the future.”
Carr said: “By switching onto a new loan with us, clients won’t need to restart the application process from scratch, as the Flip+ case will be reallocated back to the original underwriter, creating a far more streamlined and significantly faster experience than moving to another lender.”
Jemma Wood (pictured, right), director of portfolio, asset and risk at Hope Capital Property Finance, adds: “The Loan Support & Relations team are on hand to assist our borrowers throughout their varying agreements. These specialists are ideally placed to support the transition from an initial bridging loan onto refurbishment requirements through our Flip+ product.
“Our Flip+ loan product offers many benefits to our borrowers including removing the requirement of having to pay certain fees again. This not only provides a greater level of affordability to the borrower, but it also means they have more time and flexibility to capitalise on their loan.”
