AOBP Forum: Major bridging concerns to be answered

Ahead of the upcoming Association of Bridging Professionals (AOBP) quarterly Forum, where an audience of over 90 brokers will be invited to put their bridging concerns to a panel of prominent lenders, some of the event’s key figures predict some of the day’s biggest issues…

Panellist Marc Goldberg, Board Director of Manchester-based bridging lender Lancashire Mortgage Corporation, part of the larger Blemain Group, explained that the event will give brokers an opportunity to learn more about the market, straight from the lenders.

He said: “As a commercial lender it will be interesting to discuss the on-going opportunities for the ever growing uses of bridging finance. With the high street banks restricting lending to businesses, the role of the specialist lender has continued to gain credibility in the wider market. It has done so by offering flexible products for a diverse spread of clients; this is fuelling greater confidence in the outlook of brokers.”

Marc also identified areas where brokers should be paying close attention to in 2013 following a survey Blemain conducted which evidenced that broker confidence in the market is at 88 per cent.

He said: “Important areas for brokers to consider are buy-to-let, always a mainstay of the bridging market, and commercial lending. We see a growing use for bridging in the commercial sector, whether it is for the purchase of units, land or for cash flow.”

Fellow panellist Laurence Goodman, Owner of Bridgebank Capital, noted that while bridging has been readily accepted as a vital property financing tool for some time, there is still a degree of uncertainty as to how and when it should be utilised.

A priority for him will be to explain “why bridging rates cannot be compared to long term mortgage finance products, and why it cannot be underwritten or processed as would be done for a long term mortgage product.”

He added that supporting the AOBP’s Forum has become an integral part of Bridgebank’s marketing strategy since establishing itself as a vital cog in the bridging and short term property finance sector.

Keith Aldridge, Principal of Capital Bridging, one the latest bridging lenders make waves in the market, is also joining the more established lenders on the panel.

He said brokers are likely to be questioning lender perspective on topics, such as, “approach to regulation, retained interest, fee transparency and the efficiency of the client’s solicitor in the process”, which were the major concerns raised in a recent Capital Bridging broker survey.

He concluded that open forums of this nature are essential if the market is to become more robust and be seen as an ethical and prudent sector.

The panel members are:

Alan Cleary – Managing Director of Precise Mortgages

Jonathan Samuels – CEO of Dragonfly Property Finance

Andrew Bloom – Director at Masthaven Bridging Finance

Marc Goldberg – Director at Lancashire Mortgage Corporation

Keith Aldridge – Principal of Capital Bridging Finance Ltd

Laurence Goodman – Managing Director of Bridgebank Capital