Bridge finance for Channel Islands resident to build new Guernsey home

The different regulatory landscape for Channel Islands property finance calls for specialist lending solutions.

The Scenario

Our client was in the happy position of owning one of the 1,600 homes on the island, and had acquired a rare plot to build a new home. (At any one time there will only be a handful of residential sites available, priced upwards of £700K.)

She was looking for the finance for the build costs. 

The Solution

She owned her current home, valued at around £3M, mortgage-free. (Restrictions on property ownership on Guernsey means that many are passed on through family trusts.)

She was looking for £800K in bridging finance secured against her present home, to complete the new build which would be valued at around £1-1.5M.

The lack of financial regulation in Guernsey means that mainland UK regulated lenders (for homeowner borrowing) can’t get involved.

The specialist lender we’ve worked with arranged to meet our client the following week, and knows the local market well enough not to require a formal inspection. Finance was available three weeks after the application was submitted.

Read our blog on Setting up UK property finance for Guernsey residents

Case study: Arranging a top-sliced mainland BTL remortgage for Guernsey resident

Our mortgage service for Guernsey companies