Construction Finance

LINK Commercial Mortgages (“LINK”) was established in 1999 to serve and cater to the requirements of property developers who were seeking viable alternatives to conservative bank lending policies.

Our reputation for integrity and professionalism in the Australian credit sector has been painstakingly earned over the past almost three decades.

LINK provides construction finance a number of multi-tiered specialist project financiers on a “courses-for-horses” basis to suit your project’s specific requirements.

While brokers use a scatter-gun approach to the wider multi-tiered market, LINK is a specialist finance consultancy that provides a full financial project management service which means we maintain a significant involvement in the entire process:

▪ Initial project feasibility

▪ Engaging the right valuer and quantity surveyor towards optimisation of funding

▪ Review of contract builder

▪ Credit and property risk assessment

▪ Documentation and settlement

▪ Attending all on-site Progress Control Meetings

▪ Processing builder’s progress payment claims

▪ On-completion sell-down after monitoring pre-sales targets or refinance for long-term investment after monitoring pre-lease agreements with commercial tenants.

Construction finance involves structuring and managing the financial flows of a project from funding and budgeting to reimbursing builders and repaying debt on schedule.

LINK specialize in this complex process for both small and large construction projects – we support you all the way through your project and over many years.

Here are a few key differences between a typical standard bank construction facility and a LINK construction facility:

▪ Specialization - LINK specializes in construction financing, whereas banks provide all types of loans and financial services.

▪ Flexibility - LINK provides a more tailored and expertly structured facility to suit the specific project, this may be straight senior debt, include mezzanine debt, and even preferred equity.

▪ Other structural aspects - Staged pre-sales hurdles allow a project to kick-start with a minimum number of presales. Activity on a project site stimulates pre-sales, hence mile-stones are set throughout the project to a required level.

▪ Risk Tolerance - There are a number of risks that are specific to construction. Specialised project financiers have strong expertise and higher tolerance for risk in complex construction projects.

▪ Specialisation - Banks offer a one-size-fits-all standardized construction loan “product”; LINK

provides more flexibility facilities that are structured to suit the dynamics of each specific project.

▪ Underwriting - Our specialisation in project finance allows LINK to analyse and endorse a project finance proposal to the most suitable source of finance. Approvals typically occur faster than the banks with their multi-tiered systems of checks and cross-checks.

▪ Oversight - LINK provides more hands-on oversight and management throughout the entire construction process compared to periodic check-ins by a bank.

▪ Whole of Project Involvement – over the past decades, LINK has financed initial site acquisition, development stage, construction, end-purchaser acquisition, and take-out finance including long- term commercial investment loans. In summary, while banks provide a wide array of fixed “products”, LINK provides more customized

construction financing with specialized expertise, flexible structures, and more active oversight of each unique project.

Choosing LINK to financially manage your next project, you could gain quicker outcomes, enjoy more flexibility to suit your project’s specific needs, benefit from cost savings, and smoothly transition through your project with our personalised and professional services.

Contact our LINK today to discuss how we can help finance your next property development project.