3 minute read
How to choose a bridging lender
With a wealth of lenders to select from, where do you start? Michael Allison, operations director at Roma, gives his top tips
What do you want from a bridging lender? Competitive products are a given, but what else matters to you?
Choosing a finance provider can be fraught with difficulties if you don’t have first-hand experience, so it can be hard to know where to turn.
The good news is there are plenty of good options, as the bridging market is more competitive and broker-friendly than ever before.
Here, we run through some of the key factors that can help you decide which bridging lender to trust with your customer’s case.
Look for expertise
An established lender isn’t necessarily better than a new brand. But most brokers want reassurance that there’s a level of expertise within the business to overcome hurdles and deal with inevitable problems. Look for lenders that have a firm foundation of experience, have continued to thrive through different economic cycles, and have colleagues with the specialist knowledge and skills to support your customers.
How fast is their processing?
Speed is one of the most important features of a good lender. Look for those that can tell you their current turnaround times and have processes in place to give you certainty of offer as quickly as possible. We launched RomaFLOW last year, a fast new channel for straightforward cases. It has fewer stages, reduced documentation, and enhanced technology to help move cases smoothly to offer and completion.
How can you get in touch with them?
When you submit a case, will you have a dedicated point of contact with a direct number? The last thing you want to do is have to explain the whole project to a different person every time you call for an update. We suggest you pay attention to how quickly the phones are picked up on your initial enquiries. Do they seem willing to help or talk you through their processes? Make sure you feel like an individual and not a case number.
Word of mouth matters
Real-life recommendations are ideal when it comes to choosing a bridging lender. Speak to other brokers, locally, online, or at events to see which lenders they recommend (and which they don’t).
Are they members of a trade body?
Is the lender a member of a trade association? This can give you a good steer on its commitment to raising industry standards. Is it a member of the ASTL or a lender partner of the NACFB or FIBA—or all three?
What about those complex deals?
If your customer’s case is complicated, you want a lender that has experience in structuring loans to meet the needs of the project, not just offering an off-the-peg solution. At Roma, we’re proud to lend less ordinary, and many of our loans are bespoke arrangements that we structure after getting under the skin of the project. We don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to lending, and we never will.
A focus on exit strategy
The best bridging lenders look for a clear, realistic, and fully costed exit strategy before approving a loan. At Roma, we won’t lend on a project that doesn’t have a robust exit plan because we know it boosts the chances of your customer’s project being successful. It’s a big red flag if your finance provider isn’t asking questions about your customer’s exit strategy.
Do they have clear and fair fees?
The bridging sector still hasn’t quite shaken off its reputation among some brokers for high fees and opaque charges, despite many lenders and trade organisations working hard to boost standards. Look for lenders that are upfront about all fees, including those charged if your customer cannot redeem in full and on time.
How good is their technology?
Bridging finance is specialist by nature, and that’s given rise to the myth that it can’t be automated. Some aspects can’t, but many parts of the process can be improved by effective technology. It frees up our time to work on complex cases and your time to deal with more customers. At Roma, we’re committed to improving our tech to make our processes smoother for brokers.
