At a dedicated event held last week, Conister Bank launched a new product which aimed at boosting the local property market. The event, which took place at the Claremont Hotel in Douglas, saw the launch of the Bridging Loan – a flexible, interest-only product designed to accelerate the house purchase process and open up opportunities for buyers.

Invited along to the evening were key representatives from local banks, legal firms and estate agencies. Conister Bank’s Managing Director, Juan Kelly, was joined by Douglas Grant, Group Finance Director, Ian Crawford – an independent financial advisor with Conister’s sister company, Edgewater Associates – and Conister’s Head of Sales, Andy Bass.
Welcoming the assembled audience to the launch, Andy gave a presentation in which he set out both the Bridging Loan concept – essentially, a short-term solution designed to ‘bridge’ the financial gap between buying and selling a property - and the Bank’s decision to develop a tailored product for their customers.

He explained that although such loans may have fallen out of favour over the last decade, having been seen by many lenders as too risky, Conister decided to challenge this negative perception with a product which will facilitate otherwise unreachable purchases and help to stimulate the local property market.

Conister anticipates that the Bridging Loan, which is available only to Isle of Man residents, will be ideal for primarily residential property owners, looking to move either up or down the ladder; landlords seeking to add to their portfolio; and developers on the lookout for investment opportunities.

In addition to its multiple property-related applications – including moving house, planning refurbishment and buying at auction – the facility can also be used for business funding, tax liability and temporary cash flow requirements.

The introduction of the loan should be good news for finance providers as it allows them to offer an additional option to their clients. And for estate agencies, it’s an opportunity to capture and increase sales.

Neil Taggart, Director of Chrystals Estate Agents, attended the launch and welcomed the introduction of the new Conister product: “The Isle of Man property market needs some fresh financing options to stimulate activity as mainstream lenders seem so continually risk-averse that they often stifle certain buyers from leveraging against their existing home or business premises in order to buy additional property.

“On the basis that their principal property may have little or no debt secured against it, tailored finance should allow them to borrow against it to secure an onward purchase. The problem is, these products are in general either unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

“I do feel there is a good potential market of diligent, low-risk customers; the downsizing early retiree who is ready to buy their next home but perhaps not ready to move to it, the upsizer who has found their ‘chance in a lifetime’ house, or the aspiring self builder who wants to fund a plot or refurbishment opportunity. Medium-duration, sensibly-rated, interest-only finance with security held over the existing main property should be an enticing pitch”.

Before concluding his presentation, Andy talked the audience through Conister’s lending criteria, describing “easy to use lending parameters aimed at providing your clients with an efficient service with realistic criteria that we really believe can work.

“We have not reinvented the wheel but we have thoroughly researched how best to bring this significant product back to the Isle of Man market successfully and with potential benefits to local residents and businesses, and therefore our economy as a whole”.