Kuflink reveals its secret to development loans
Kuflink has been sourcing, funding and supporting property development loans for more than seven years without losing any investor money. This phenomenal track record is down to the expertise and due diligence of the team.
Property development lending can be a high reward business but can come with certain risks associated to it. If the development is a success, it can offer very competitive investor returns. But if the development runs into difficulties, it can cause costly delays in the construction, leading to a higher possibility of borrower default.
Pete Wilkins (pictured), asset manager at Kuflink, has plenty of experience in the property development sector. Prior to joining the peer-to-peer lending platform, he worked full time on construction sites. Now, his job is to protect investor money, while monitoring the progress of Kuflink’s ongoing development projects.
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“My history is actually in onsite construction,” explains Wilkins. “I have done everything from refurbishments to new builds, barn conversions, graded listed buildings, and industrial units. I’ve covered a wide range of builds myself.
“There is so much more to a construction project than just the building. There is so much more work underground than people realise.
“With the knowledge that I have, I am able to read build schedules and know whether a project is feasible to a certain extent. I can liaise with the underwriters on loans that come in and work closely with our clients and contractors.”
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Wilkins’ experience means that he can work alongside the construction team to ensure that key milestones are being met. For instance, are key materials arriving onsite in good time; does the site need to be protected from inclement weather; and is the work being done in line with the latest regulations?
“Regulations change all the time,” Wilkins says. “While the construction team can rely on their architects, they also need to rely on local building controls.”
There is also an added value for the borrowers as they can access Kuflink’s expertise and flexibility as well as securing financing. Kuflink’s borrowers know the team will always work with them to find a solution to any issues that crop up on site. This symbiotic relationship is what keeps good quality developers coming back to Kuflink again and again.
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“An original schedule can change and does change, and you need to be able to run with that,” says Wilkins, but he adds that in his time at Kuflink, he has never seen anything on site that has given him cause for concern.
“I’ve been invited to a lot of sites to inspect the work – to go out on site is the highlight of the job for me,” he adds.
“I have never been declined a site visit, I am always welcomed with open arms. And I have never seen anything that shouldn’t be there. The sites are run how they should be and that’s a great comfort to myself and the company.”
For Kuflink, the secret to its zero loss record is simple – when you only choose the highest quality loans, and only work with experienced developers and construction experts, you naturally reduce the risk of something going wrong.
This quality-led approach, along with a commitment to protecting investor money, has helped to make Kuflink one of the largest P2P property development lenders in the market today.