Residential development finance

Two or more dwellings built on one site for sale or to hold. That covers a pair of houses on a split block, grouped dwellings behind an existing home, and small unit projects. Lenders treat the whole thing as one project and size the facility against its cost and its end value.

It depends on the lender. Some will treat a two dwelling build as residential construction, which is cheaper and simpler if you qualify, because it is assessed largely on your income. Others treat anything multi-dwelling as development finance and assess the project instead, so we check which side your build lands on before applying.

It depends on the lender, the project size and your track record. Facilities are sized against total development cost and end value rather than by a single rule, and bank funding generally requires more equity than private funding. We work out the realistic requirement for your specific project before approaching anyone.

Banks usually want presale cover, though the level varies by lender and by project. Non-bank and private lenders will often fund without presales at a higher cost. On a small infill site the cost of moving now is sometimes less than the cost of waiting for contracts.

The R-code and the local planning scheme set the density the site is assessed against, and your feasibility is built on the yield that produces. Site constraints, access, drainage and retaining can all reduce what is actually approvable. Lenders work from your approval rather than your assumption, so the planning path comes before the funding.

Green title, survey strata and built strata each carry a different programme and a different set of conditions to clear before titles issue. That changes when you can settle sales and therefore when the facility is repaid. Some lenders are more comfortable with one type than another, which is part of how we choose where to take the file.

The facility is sized and dated on the assumption the stock sells, so unsold dwellings at the end of the term have to be dealt with. The usual options are refinancing the remaining stock to a hold facility or negotiating an extension, both subject to a fresh assessment. Planning for that at the start is cheaper than negotiating it under pressure.

Yes, though the terms reflect the lack of track record and lenders look harder at the builder and the site. A modest, conservative first project presented honestly funds far more easily than an ambitious one. Pairing with an experienced builder strengthens the application considerably.