< p>The case for charging upfront fees

Well, out with the old and in with the new, and a happy and prosperous new year to all. Here's to the introduction of new working practices courtesy of my new year resolutions, I will get my sad idle ass out of bed earlier!! There will be new frontiers to explore on the business front, I've set high but achievable targets, it's all pretty simple on paper, isn't it? Famous last words...   First things first, over the quiet festive break I brought my management accounts up to date, it's the first time the programme has been open since August, so 4 months to input.   What a boring task, working through all the tatty receipts from the dashboard shelf of the car, our Gert really ought to be tidier, then working through 4 months’ bank statements, and 4 months’ worth of income from various sources, but this is far better than paying some guy in green cords with an accountancy certificate behind his name, it really is a doddle and one of the necessary evils of self employment.   Next job was to clean up my Mortgage Keeper back office system. A view at the ‘case tracking overview page’ showed too many potential bits of business that are stranded in the first category, ‘potential prospects’ cases where I'd been given an amount of initial information to view if the funding was possible and if I wanted the business.   Cases where I have had a preliminary look and then they have stagnated awaiting the client or the introducer for further information, or the green light to proceed, well I can say that all but two have been archived and freed me for an influx of new, fresh projects to get my teeth into.   And whilst we’re tightening the purse strings..   My first project of the year is a guy chasing rates on a commercial purchase. This guy was introduced to me for commercial finance, he owns a metal manufacturing business in Sheffield, and is currently renting premises for £77,000 per annum.   He has had an offer accepted on some new premises he's buying for £950,000, 70% LTV agreed with his own high street bank, but what at face value seems a high rate, 5%.   “Can you beat it?,” was his request, well that was a no brainer, missing out his existing bank I got no fewer than five alternative lenders who came in with rates ranging between 3.5% to 4.25%. “So let's move forward,” I told him. Alas, he said he wanted to wait while he spoke to his bank, and lo and behold they came back at 3.5%.   So I went back to my chosen lenders and shaved it down to 3.31%, and with a loan of £665,000 that is well worth thinking about, well that's what I thought. And he's doing exactly that, thinking about it, whilst trying to get his bank to match.   Basically he's using us all: his bank, me, my introducer, my lenders. Yes, he definitely requires the finance, but doesn't it make you wish that you were stronger on taking our standard project assessment fee of £295 upfront in every case? After all, the time spent on this looks like it may be wasted. Ever felt used and abused? Well, that's clients for you.   And one in the eye for those that say we shouldn't charge upfront.   So I introduced a lender with funds available from the EIB, rate of 3.75% before the EIB 0.7%, six year discount, pay rate 3.05%, and guess what he's still thinking, well think on lad, I'm moving on!!     Over to you.     Email Bob, [email protected]