Tips for financing the dream

Our Portfolio development manager, Becky, recently met with Simon Barrand, a NatWest Relationship Manager in Cornwall, and he has kindly written a blog for us on how to finance your holiday cottage.  Read his advice and top tips below.

I sit here writing this blog after overhearing the time honoured phrase from somebody in the street “banks just aren’t lending any money”. This seems to be a staple perception since 2008.

The simple fact is that it’s just not true. I have been lending money with NatWest since I joined the bank in 2006, and this year I think I have been busier than ever. In that time I have seen a real sea change in Cornwall; the county has now really got that “x” factor about it. We are attracting Michelin starred chefs to our restaurants, top TV productions take place from Botallack to Bodmin, and we put the first pasty in space.  All of this means increasing numbers of people wanting to visit the county, some of course on the off chance of that Ross Poldark might be out with his scythe on a sunny afternoon.

My parents, who are farmers in Tehidy, near the expansive north coast beaches of Gwithan and Godrevy, cottoned onto this and converted three barns into holiday lets, and I have seen them go from strength to strength and increase the bookings every year. It really is great speaking to the visitors to the barns and hear them wax lyrical about their holiday.

This year has seen me work with more and more people similar to my parents in seeing a holiday let as a potentially sound investment. The good news is that NatWest wants to assist potential owners in achieving their dream.

So how do you secure the finance for your holiday let venture? The first port of call I would suggest would be a chat with myself or one of my fellow relationship managers to use our local knowledge to run through your plans. This can either be over the phone or ideally face to face. You would also need a non borrowed deposit in place.

At that stage we would look at the previous financials of the business to see how it was performing and if it meets the bank’s criteria for lending. If it was a new venture we would ask the team here at Cornish Horizons to provide some projections so we could see the potential in the property.

We would also need to know a bit about you. So details about your earnings, expenditure requirements and so on would also be assessed. You would be guided through the whole process.

I would really love to speak to you about your plans. Please feel free to pick up the phone or send me an email.

Simon Barrand

Relationship Manager NatWest - 07826 531568 - simon.barrand@natwest.com

If you would like any more advice about holiday letting, you can contact our friendly team or Simon at any time.