Stalled Development? Urgent Short Term Finance to Buy or Refinance the Site

There can be, and the sooner you start the better. We can refinance a construction lender after it has appointed a receiver, and our in-house valuers regularly value part-complete developments as they stand. What can still be done once the receiver has exchanged contracts with a buyer is a question for your solicitor, so ask now how far the sale campaign has progressed. Ask the lender for a written payout figure that includes its enforcement costs to date, and send it to us with the builder's estimate of the cost to complete. If the site as it stands does not cover the payout within our 70% limit, another property can be added as security.

• →Receivership refinance

Only just, and only if our valuation agrees. 70% of $5,500,000 is $3,850,000, which is $50,000 more than the $3,800,000 payout. That $50,000 will not cover legal costs and holding costs, and if our valuers assess the site below about $5,430,000, the limit falls below the payout. Our own valuers value the site and the completed work as they stand, and their figure, not an earlier valuation, sets the loan. Plan to add another property you own as security, so there is room for the costs.

It can. Our valuers assess the site and the work done as they stand, and the cost to finish is part of that assessment. It also decides how realistic the repayment plan is, because a construction lender has to fund the remaining work for the project to be completed. Send us the new quote and a quantity surveyor's cost-to-complete report, because your next lender will ask for the same.

Yes, where the construction lender's terms allow a second mortgage. All borrowing across both loans stays within 70% of the site's value as it stands. On a site valued at $6,000,000 with $3,000,000 owing to the construction lender, that leaves up to $1,200,000. Second mortgage rates start from 11.95% p.a.

• →Second mortgage finance

We need the sale contract, the title and whatever reports the receiver has released on the building, such as the building contract, progress claims and any quantity surveyor report. We also need your plan for finishing or selling the project, because that is how the loan is repaid. Send everything in the first two days, so our valuers can inspect the site early in the 14.

It can delay the refinance, because our valuers need to inspect the site and the work done before we lend. Ask the liquidator for access for a valuation inspection as soon as you call us. In the meantime, send us the title, the building contract and the progress claims, so the rest of the assessment is done before the inspection.

No. We value the building as it stands, unfinished, because the completed value only exists once the work is done. Our valuers assess what has been built, the remaining work and its cost. Once the building is complete and some apartments are still unsold, a refinance of the completed apartments is a separate loan.

• →Urgent loans for residual stock

Yes. A second property can be added as security for the company's loan, and the 70% limit is worked out across both. For example, a $4,000,000 payout on a site valued at $5,000,000 is $500,000 over the limit on the site alone. Adding a property worth $1,500,000 with $400,000 owing raises the combined limit to $4,550,000, and after the $400,000 is subtracted, $4,150,000 remains, which covers the payout.

Yes. Selling the site as it stands is one of the ways these loans are repaid, and our terms run from 1 to 24 months. Tell us how long your agent expects the campaign to take, and we set the term with time to spare. Once the outgoing lender is repaid, its deadline no longer decides when you must sell.

The quantity surveyor's fees can, and the builder's deposit cannot. Consultant and quantity surveyor fees to price the remaining work are part of what we fund, within the 70% limit. A deposit to the new builder is part of the construction cost, which a construction lender funds. Ask your construction lender how it treats a deposit you have already paid.

They are not added to the site's value. Our valuer values the land and the work completed as they stand today. The sales still matter, because they show how the finished apartments will sell, which supports your plan to bring in a construction lender. Send us the sales schedule with the sunset dates, and have your solicitor check where each contract stands.

No. We fund the purchase or refinance of the site as it stands, and the holding costs while you arrange the next stage. Finishing the build is funded by a construction lender, usually once a new building contract is signed.

Yes. We refinance the site based on its value today, and we will ask for your plan to appoint a new builder and arrange construction finance.

We need to learn your scenario further. A refinance can go ahead where the caveats can be paid out or removed at settlement. Send us a current title search and the amounts claimed, and we will tell you how they affect the loan.

Yes. Receivers and mortgagees often sell part-built sites with short settlements, and we work to their timetable. Send us the sale terms and any reports on the site before you sign.

No, we can refinance before a new builder is appointed. We will ask for your plan to appoint one and to arrange construction finance, because that plan is how our loan is repaid.

That depends on the contracts and the state. In NSW, a developer cannot use a sunset clause to end an off-the-plan contract without an order from the Supreme Court, unless the buyer agrees, and deposits cannot be released to the developer before settlement. Your solicitor can advise on your contracts.

Same-day settlement is possible, depending on your scenario, and most refinances settle within 24 hours of a signed letter of offer. The outgoing lender's discharge is often the slowest step, so ask it for a payout figure as soon as you call us.

• →$4 million for a DA-approved site, settled within 24 hours when the expected lender was not ready
• →$3 million second mortgage in 48 hours after the previous funder changed its conditions
• →$3.2 million funded within 24 hours

Yes. Developers and builders often need working capital for deposits, consultants or subcontractor payments while a project is being restarted. We lend to construction and property development businesses for cash flow as well as for sites.

• →Construction lending
• →Working capital loans