Ecology drawdowns

[SuperJohnG]

I've been approved (woohoo) for our ecology mortgage.  I need to tell the solicitor how much to get for the first whack and wasnt sure exactly how much to take as I don't need the full amount available straight away. However wasnt sure how quick and easy the next drawdowns  were if someone can clarify? 

Timings are a little up in the air currently as we have just paid first kit payment to get engineering going,  then once that is turned around we will get on with tanners for foundation design and ordering before going back and forth for SER and the final approval on building warrant before I break ground. 

 

Any lessons learnt here or insight would be helpful. Are ecology happy to do like 10k one week and then 20k 2 weeks later without too much hassle? (It won't be that schedule butnits a good example)

Or am just being tight and should take a bit more and swallow the interest? 

 

 

[LA3222]

@SuperJohnG they will.pretty much give you whatever you want, whenever you want provided it does not exceed 80% of the current value of what you have built.

 

Myself, I drew down a third of what they would lend me (in Jan) initially in order to pay for frame, roof and windows deposit. Once house was up I drew down another 20% ish (in May) to get me through the next load of stuff.  

 

I won't need anymore till next year now as I'm plodding through stuff myself now - I've drawn just over 50% now.

 

It is a quick/slick process, just tell them you want to draw down however much, they will get a valuer to confirm current valuation and then money will be transferred straight away. Even during lockdown, it only took a week for us to get the funds and it only took that long as valuation was done via email using photos/receipts of expenditure for big ticket items as evidence.

 

Should only take a few days during normal times.

 

First payment has to be done via solicitor. We drew down the max we could on first installment - 80% based on value of land with services.

[Conor]

How much you can draw down is dependent on the valuation at the time. You can request the valuer out at any time, you can then draw down 80% of the increased value, as long as it's less than 80% of the build budget total. £250 fee I think.

 

We'll get the valuer out once we get to first floor level. Hopefully he'll value works arly £100k so we can get £80k, which  will be enough for wondows, doors, first fits erc. When I spoke to him when he valued the site, said there wasn't much of a point getting him out again unless there was substantial progress... E..g in relation to my basement, he saw little market value in a big hole in the ground with a tanked slab... Even though I'd be out of pocket by £50k by that point.

[SuperJohnG]

31 minutes ago, LA3222 said:

@SuperJohnG 

 

First payment has to be done via solicitor. We drew down the max we could on first installment - 80% based on value of land with services.

@LA3222 @Conor

 Thanks both. I probably didn't word it correctly I was just thinking of the first installment.

I currently have up to 132k available as current valuation at 175k for plot.  

Hence was just thinking about taking 50k of that to ckver second frame payment and groundworks. I'm not quite sure if I'll get building warrant in time hence I was holding back on the remiander of that 132k to avoid paying the interest on the 82k id jave in the bank till windows payment and final frame payment due, I may even push them till march just to avoid the horrible jam/Feb weather.  Hence was wondering if I quickly needed to get that remiander it was straight forward. 

The next part was clear on getting the valuer back to release more of the retention, cheers

 

[Alister84]

On 03/09/2020 at 07:31, SuperJohnG said:

@LA3222 @Conor

 Thanks both. I probably didn't word it correctly I was just thinking of the first installment.

I currently have up to 132k available as current valuation at 175k for plot.  

Hence was just thinking about taking 50k of that to ckver second frame payment and groundworks. I'm not quite sure if I'll get building warrant in time hence I was holding back on the remiander of that 132k to avoid paying the interest on the 82k id jave in the bank till windows payment and final frame payment due, I may even push them till march just to avoid the horrible jam/Feb weather.  Hence was wondering if I quickly needed to get that remiander it was straight forward. 

The next part was clear on getting the valuer back to release more of the retention, cheers

 

@SuperJohnG

 

Was that Ecology who valued the plot, or did you arrange yourself?

 

We might have undervalued ours looking at those numbers.

[Andrew]

My experience of this has been fill out a form, email it to my contact at Ecology, money in the bank a day later. 

 

I panicked and requested a valuation at the end of July as I worried that they would be really slow after lock down and we had got the roof on and windows and doors in the frame. The valuer called me the afternoon I requested the valuation from Ecology and popped round the following morning. Valued our progress at £370k which is far in excess of the £200k we are borrowing, so happy days they will release the lot. Haven't needed any of the money yet, but it's really reassuring knowing they will release it quickly when we do. 

[SuperJohnG]

2 hours ago, Alister84 said:

@SuperJohnG

 

Was that Ecology who valued the plot, or did you arrange yourself?

 

We might have undervalued ours looking at those numbers.

@Alister84 its sorted out through ecology. However it is a local surveyor who will do it. (Allied surveyors for you likely as you are close to me). 

 

If you have granted PP it will drastically increase the value. If i was you I wouldn't progress with Ecology to the next stage until you have PP?. 

[Alister84]

@SuperJohnG

 

Nice one. We are not going with Ecology, I'm self employed and they weren't a good fit for us, looks like Darlington here.

 

PP is in so just the waiting game being played currently.

[NandM]

I'm assuming you only pay interest on the amount you draw down, rather than the full agreed mortgage?

[Bitpipe]

11 minutes ago, NandM said:

I'm assuming you only pay interest on the amount you draw down, rather than the full agreed mortgage?

 

Yes, so an incentive to only take what you need.

 

When I was with them (2015/6) they just need an email to release funds - no valuations once the solicitor did the initial paperwork. 

[SuperJohnG]

10 hours ago, NandM said:

I'm assuming you only pay interest on the amount you draw down, rather than the full agreed mortgage?

Yes as per @Bitpipes comment. 

 

However yes you can take the cash uo to the allowed value. But once you reach a point you've maxed that out you need to call the surveyor back out to assess the current value which will release more funds. 

[eandg]

Can I ask if you paid the product fee pre-order? They're asking for £1,099 (product fee of £799, application fee of £300) before progressing our application. We've been pre-approved but I was only prepared for the £300 hit if it doesn't go to plan!