Are there any mortgage lenders out there prepared to risk on a 'punt'?

[hks]

I'd be interested to know which mortgage lenders are still brave enough to lend to first time auction buyers.  I love the idea of the sales process being speeded up through the auction process but surely the preparation involved in hunting down the lender can be just as protracted?

[hev]

Please ensure you have your fund in place prior to bidding, it can be a legal nightmare and costly business if you dont. Some auction properties are there as they are deemed    unmortgagable.

[bubble]

I actually struggle to think of any banks that would lend at the moment.

If you had a hefty deposit I should think the bank would look at you more favourably, but houses are more difficult to sell now too.

Perhaps if you were buying to let, you may have a chance too.

[theemperorhasnoclothes]

I read alot on sites like Singing Pig about bridging loans. I wonder if anyone has had experience (post - credit - crunch) of obtaining such a loan to do property development or as a shortcut to getting finance whilst more long-term finance is found. Can anyone shed any light on how they work? I.e. can you roll them over for another period? I've seen 1 day, 1 month, 6 month loans of this type. I wonder if you can just roll them over every 6 months? Or would it be cheaper to get a regular mortgage.

I assume the short term nature of the loan makes the bank more willing to lend, as the property would only decline 10% max in that time, and if you have a good deposit thats no problem for them. After the 6 months they have the power to say no, whereas with a long-term loan they are stuck with the asset (falling in value) if you default.

Is bridging loans the best way to finance at auction (assuming you haven't got the reddies!).

[hks]

I have spoke to a friend of mine who is a property developer and he has shifted his operations towards the 'buy-to-let' market since the housing slump.

He's keeping his bank manager in his back pocket and that seems to work well for him which surprises me - we're all so critical of the banks at the moment.

[hev]

One thing that was regular practice prior to the credit crunch, buyers purchased the building at auction, did the work and then remortgaged to move on to their next project, with funding as it is now, it wont be quite so easy as lendors will worry about the equity in the buliding