"We knew UTB would be the ideal lender with this application and they worked quickly to assist the clients in progressing the case without delay, despite the issues with Scottish law"
- Matthew Dilks - Clever Lending
The clients had spent several years travelling across the UK in a mobile home before deciding they wanted to purchase a residential property in Scotland. They elected to use bridging finance to complete the purchase quickly.
Their exit strategy was to draw down one of their pensions on their 55th birthday, which was around six months into the life of the bridging loan.
Matthew Dilks, (pictured) commercial and bridging specialist at Clever Lending, placed the case with United Trust Bank (UTB) as it met a number of requirements: it would lend on properties in Scotland; it would use an AVM valuation and also offered competitively-priced regulated bridging rates.
Clever Lending worked closely with both the clients and the lender in order to complete the loan within eight weeks. It required several workarounds, including the use of Scottish ID verification and the offer letter detailing Scottish law rather than English law.
The regulated bridging loan was for 12 months at a loan-to-value of 49%, with a rate of 0.64% per month.
Matthew Dilks, commercial and bridging specialist at Clever Lending, commented: “Regulated bridging finance is a popular solution but not one that is offered by all bridging lenders, while even fewer are willing to lend in Scotland.
“As a master broker with expertise in bridging, we have close relationships with a wide variety of lenders, meaning we can place those cases which others struggle to handle.
“We knew UTB would be the ideal lender with this application and they worked quickly to assist the clients in progressing the case without delay, despite the issues with Scottish law.”
Paul Delmonte at United Trust Bank, added: “This transaction demonstrates the bank's flexibility perfectly when it comes to Bridging Finance and shows our ability to be able to move quickly to get cases funded.
“It’s always a pleasure to work with Clever Lending on any transaction. We have worked closely over the years which has helped us develop a fantastic working relationship which really adds value.
“We are looking forward to continuing our strong working relationship in the years to come.”
