Uninhabitable Auction Purchase, East London
Uninhabitable
property. Auction
purchase. Bridging loan
agreed within the hour.
Vacant property.
No mortgage possible.
Completion needed fast.
A property investor, purchasing through his SPV, secured a 2-bed semi-detached in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex at auction for £230,000. The property was vacant and in an uninhabitable condition — ruling out any standard residential mortgage from the outset. With auction completion required on a tight timescale and a clear refurbish-and-sell exit targeting a GDV of over £400,000, bridging finance was the only route to the deal.
Unmortgageable stock, auction clock ticking.
- Property vacant and uninhabitable — no standard mortgage available at any LTV
- Auction completion required — no time for a lengthy application process
- Full RICS physical valuation not viable within the timescale
- SPV structure needed a lender comfortable with corporate borrowing on distressed stock
- Client required retained interest — no monthly payments during the refurbishment period
- Exit entirely dependent on completing refurbishment works before sale or refinance
Placed with a specialist lender. Terms issued the same day.
- Placed with a specialist lender experienced with uninhabitable and vacant stock
- AVM valuation agreed — no physical inspection, no delay, no surveyor cost
- £172,240 gross facility at 75% LTV against the £230,000 purchase price
- Retained interest structure — zero monthly payments throughout the build period
- No exit fee — £0 on redemption, protecting the refurb-and-sell margin
- 12-month term providing a full runway for renovation and sale
Uninhabitable Stock. No Problem for the Right Lender.
Standard mortgage lenders will not touch a vacant, uninhabitable property — the condition alone disqualifies it at the point of application. We placed this deal with a specialist bridging lender with deep experience in distressed and uninhabitable residential stock, ensuring the purchase could proceed at full 75% LTV without the property's condition constraining the facility.
AVM Valuation. Fast Completion, No Survey Cost.
Rather than instructing a full RICS physical inspection — which carries cost, delay and execution risk on an auction deal — we agreed an automated valuation model (AVM) with the lender. No surveyor visit, no report turnaround time, no additional outlay. The AVM was accepted on the day, keeping the deal on track for auction completion without compromising the facility size.
Retained Interest. No Exit Fee. Margin Protected.
With a refurbishment programme ahead of them, the last thing the client needed was monthly interest payments running alongside build costs. The retained structure rolled all interest into the facility, preserving day-1 cash for the works. Equally, we negotiated zero exit fee on redemption — so when the property sells, the client keeps the full benefit of the uplift without a percentage being clawed back on the way out.
The Timeline
Terms issued and accepted the same day. Completion in January — refurbishment under way.
Instruction & Placement
Auction deal packaged and placed with a specialist lender the same morning. AVM agreed in principle; 75% LTV terms structured against the £230,000 purchase price.
Terms Issued & Accepted
Full terms presented to the client: £172,240 gross, 0.97% pcm retained, no exit fee, 12-month term. Client confirmed acceptance within the hour.
Application, AVM & Legals
SPV application submitted, AVM completed on the subject property, solicitors instructed on both sides. Title insurance arranged; facility agreement issued and signed.
Completion & Drawdown
Purchase completed. £147,981.24 net released on day 1. Keys in hand — full refurbishment programme begins on a property valued by the client's estate agent at £425,000 post-works.
"Uninhabitable property, auction timescales, SPV borrowing — each of those things narrows the lender market on its own. Together they rule out most of it. We placed it with a specialist lender on an AVM the same morning the instruction came in, locked in retained interest with no exit fee, and had terms accepted by the afternoon. That is what whole-of-market access actually looks like."
If a standard mortgage won't touch it, bridging finance will.
We fund uninhabitable property purchases, auction completions and distressed stock from £50,000 upwards — placed across the whole market including lenders who don't require a physical valuation. SPV and individual borrowing. Fast decisions, same-day terms.
