The presale appraised below the purchase price — a lender using a blanket assessment, $500K at 80% of the contract price

A local resident had bought a presale years earlier, looking forward to a home of her own. Completion day finally arrived, and so did the problem. Presale valuations had softened in recent years, and the lender’s appraisal came in below what she had originally paid. Assessed against the new value, the mortgage would not reach 80% of the purchase price. Her down payment was not generous enough to cover the shortfall, and without the full amount she could not complete.

She approached several banks and got the same answer each time: not enough. With the completion date closing in and years of waiting — plus her deposit — at stake, a friend referred her to Guaranti. Most lenders were indeed working from the latest appraisal, but a small number will apply a blanket assessment to qualifying presale projects: the project is valued as a whole, and the loan-to-value is calculated against the original purchase price.

The team shortlisted the lenders that would do this, prepared the file and submitted. $500,000 was approved — 80% of the purchase price — and the completion went ahead.