Where is the best place to go to find suitable finance for your Self Build or Renovation Project?

These days there are literally thousands of places you can go to find finance for whatever sort of project you are considering.

It’s not really a case anymore of “can” we find finance, it’s more of a case of “Where should we go to find the BEST source of funding for OUR particular type of project, and that suits OUR particular financial circumstances

With the “explosion” of the availability information on the internet, plus all the specialist “Self Build and Renovation” publications, the Trade Shows, and the High Street Building Societies and Banks all offering various “products”, your biggest problem will be sifting your way through all the different products, trying to understand how they all work and which will be best for you!  

In other words, we now have a new problem which has taken the place of us all “knowing nothing” and “wondering what to do” about finding finance, - and that is “Information Overload”! 

If you try to “go it alone” you could spend literally months ploughing through all of the available information on types of mortgages, interest rates, set up fees, early repayment penalties, admin fees, valuation fees etc.

You could compare literally hundreds of products, trying to work out which one would be best for your project. – You will eventually choose one, and start the application process, but, unless you have managed to read up on all the “conditions” that attach themselves to the product you apply for, you may get part way through an application process before you find out that actually won’t be suitable for you.

If you had a car that needed an engine part, you would not go to one of the huge “Car Supermarkets” to see if they had the part you need. – It would be a waste of time. - Yes they deal in selling “cars” of all types and prices - but you don’t need the whole thing. You just need to find the right part. – The particular part that will make your car’s engine work! - To stand the best chance of finding the part that you need, quickly and at the right price, you would be best going to either a garage which specializes in your make of car, or possibly to one of the “car part and accessory supermarkets” which stock a wide range of engine parts to suit many different types of cars, including yours.

There are possibly hundreds, if not thousands of different “mortgages products” out there.

Only a handful of them will be right for you. – So, you need to target your searching to “the best place to look” to find what YOU need for YOUR particular “individual” project.

However, because this whole site is designed to SPECIFICALLY TARGET the Self Build, Renovation and Conversion markets, INCLUDING offering you a choice of “Potential Funding sources”. – It is a sensible place to consider starting your search.

As a site we gain nothing from you using the Trade Directory to find a suitable funder. – The job of this site is just to put the information in front of you, from which you can make your own choices.

The fact that our advertisers have decided to pay to advertise their mortgage products HERE, suggests that their products suit THIS MARKET.

The nature of the Index, and the way the advertising system is set up, also means that if these organisations launch any new products or want to present “special offers”, they will be able to change their adverts to include the new products / offers, - thus keeping their “Target Markets”(you) fully up to date with what they are doing and with their product ranges.

In a similar way to the way this site brings together the lenders and their “target markets”, the monthly Specialist Self Build and Renovating magazines often contain numerous types of adverts, offering a wide range of products designed specifically for this market.

You will actually probably find that most of the advertisers, who appear in the specialist magazines, also appear at most of the Self Build and Renovation Trade Shows. In many cases the shows are actually “hosted” by the magazines.

If you happen to be near to one of the travelling shows or the static show in Swindon, or if you can get to one of the large “yearly” shows in Birmingham or London, it may be worth making the effort to organise a visit.

At any of the Trade Shows, you will be able to talk “first hand”, on the day, to specialist advisers, about all the products they offer. – After just a short chat about your specific project, you may go away with a far better idea of how it all works, and a good idea of what product may be best for you.

Advantages of calling in at a local branch of a Building Society or Bank to see if they have any suitable products include:

·         Getting a more “Personal” service. – You can sit and chat about your project and discuss possibilities.

·         The fact that they are “close at hand” allows you to “nip in” to discuss any problems that arise, and therefore have more control over “getting things done” (sometimes letters, faxes and e mails can sit on peoples desks for a few days before being dealt with. – If you are talking face to face, often you tend to get more immediate actions)

Many of the High street Banks and Building Societies now offer Self Build Mortgages. Some offer Renovation / Conversion Mortgages. – However, obviously, their product range they can introduce you to will usually be limited to their own products.

If going to contact one of your local branches, check that their adviser is fully trained and up to date on their products, and on “the subject” as a whole. – If they are not they might not be able to fully advise you on everything you need or want to know.

If your local branch can’t offer a full trained adviser, and there is another branch in the next town or city which DOES have someone who has been fully trained, - it may be worth initially going to them, so you can get the best and the latest information on the products, - and (if you decide to make an application) coming back to your local branch for the remainder of the application process.

If you do a search on the internet using the words: “Self Build Mortgages”, or something similar, you may be risking being hit by the problem I mentioned earlier: “Information overload”.

As I am writing this section, I have just done a search and found 3,020,000 search results under: “Self Build Mortgages”! - All with web sites to visit, all with differing products, all with their own “sales pitch”. – You could drive yourself crazy trying to make sense of them all!

The other problem with “surfing” for products is that you generally have to fill in “contact forms” with your personal details. You will often then get sales people calling you at all hours, trying to sell their “wares”. – This can become incredibly annoying. – Especially as some of the less “reputable” companies will use this method of chasing business along with some of the “high quality” companies. – If you have no experience of this sort of thing, you may find it hard to tell them apart, and you could end up getting “caught out”. – Just be careful.

If you do decide to use the internet, I would advise trying to stick with “names you have heard” of, especially when it comes to the products themselves. – If you are attracted by a product from a company which you have never heard of, which is offering something far better than anyone else, get it checked out – maybe by your Solicitor before committing yourself to it. You may find that, in the small print, there are all sorts of things that can cause you problems further down the line.

You will often see ads for Mortgage companies in the daily newspapers.

These ads will usually be for “widely” targeted  products, as opposed to “specialist” products, and therefore may not be your best bet to contact for a mortgage of the sort that you are probably going to need.

The fact that a company is advertising “mortgages” does not necessarily mean that they have ANY products which would be of relevance to your project (using these ads would be more like the going to the “car supermarkets” for an engine part, - as I mentioned earlier).

However, contacting them could possibly bring you results, if, by chance they do happen to have the ideal product for you within their “portfolio”.

Target your research otherwise your time will just disappear and you will end up confused by “information overload”.

Keep checking on “new products” that may become available whilst you are searching and before you commit yourself.

Once it is fully up and running, this site should be the best place to start. It is unbiased, and it is designed to be as “targeted” as possible. – Cutting out all of the “flotsam and jetsam”, whilst also giving you everything you need in one place.

In addition to (or if you wish, instead of) using this site you could quickly find what you need by getting hold of the  Specialist magazines and visiting the Trade shows which are targeted specifically at this section of the market.

Simply browsing dozens and dozens of internet sites for companies, many of which you have never heard of MAY bring you good results but, if you are not experienced in “mortgage / funding matters” you could risk getting taken in by one of the less reputable companies offering products with more strings attached than a “grand piano”! – Just be careful!