This article is from page 74 of the 2007-06-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 74 JPG
ENNIS-based financial advisors, Curragrove Mortgage and Financial Services are handling the country’s first specialist commercial lending programme, provided by Start Mort- eee
Start Mortgages has announced a new commercial mortgage program specifically designed for those cus- tomers who have difficulty obtaining commercial mortgages from tradi- tional banks and building societies. Start is the first lender in Ireland to develop such a programme which aims to satisfy a large segment of customers and property types ex- cluded from traditional lending pro- erammes.
Since commencement, Start has of- fered mortgages to more than 10,000 residential customers who have dif- ficulty getting a mortgage due to factors such as poor credit history, employment profile or other personal APKC SereeDeeoe
The main characteristics of this new program include semi-commercial and commercial properties includ-
ing pubs, restaurants, retail shops, guest houses and other commercial units. In addition, the program will include Start’s established lending features such as self certification of income, whole of term interest only and terms up to 40 years. Customers will be provided with facility levels up to €2.5 million.
Paul Murphy, head of sales and marketing at Start said, “The Spe- cialist commercial mortgage market has been totally unserved up to now. We estimate that the potential of this segment will be in excess of €2 bil- lion per annum.
“Since commencement of business operations in 2004 we have received a significant level of enquiries from our broker partners. In addition, Ire- land have seen significant growth in the SME sector in recent years.
“We have worked closely with our intermediary relationships to devel- op this commercial program.
“We are delighted to be the first specialist lender to launch such a product and believe it represents a significant enhancement to current proposition.”