Property development funding and expert advice, all in one place
With years of personal experience in developments, access to tons of lenders and our own unique lending facility, we've got the tools to get you on your way.
Whether you're a newbie or an old hand at the development game, we can help.
- Sit back while we manage the end-to-end funding for your project
- We have our own funds for smaller developments
- More options through the major banks and specialist lenders for bigger projects
- We can arrange funding for as little as $300,000 all the way up to $30 million
We arrange finance for simple house builds, large-scale property developments, and everything in betweenWhat makes Squirrel unique is we are mortgage brokers and a mortgage lender. That means we can access the banks, as well as provide our own lending through our peer-to-peer investors.
What makes Squirrel unique is we are mortgage brokers and a mortgage lender. That means we can access the banks, as well as provide our own lending through our peer-to-peer investors.
Construction loans and turnkey for builders
Get access to an efficient and low-cost lending facility designed especially for builders, for simple house builds all the way through to terraced house and apartment projects. Find out more.
End-to-end residential property development finance
Smart developers know it's about making your money work harder, and managing the risks. With us on your team you get a fairer deal, and access to more lending options.
Landbanking
The development life-cycle is long, and it's likely you'll need funds to secure the land ahead of construction. We can help using our lending facility.
Bridging finance
Sometimes you need to bridge the cashflow gap to get your project moving. Our lending facility is flexible and we can work outside of the traditional bank criteria.
Hot tip for getting finance approved
When a lender goes in to assess your application for funding, including your feasibility report, their biggest concern is minimising any risk to them as a result of backing your development.
What’s considered an acceptable level of risk will vary massively from lender to lender. Banks are typically on the more conservative end of the spectrum, while non-banks are usually willing and able to be a little more flexible.
The three financial metrics that matter most are:
Return on investment (ROI), loan to value ratio (LVR), and loan to cost ratio (LTC)
For more info on this and other tips like this, get the guide to property development. You'll be schooled up in no time.
Whether your funding is from a bank or non-bank, financing costs can be tricky to navigate. Here's an overview of the most common fees:
Establishment fee
Lenders will generally charge a one-off fee of between 1% - 3% for development finance and this is normally added to the loan.
Line fee
The fee charged on the total limit of your loan, for the duration of your loan. Essentially you’re paying for the lender to hold those funds aside for you while you’re not using them. It’s important to note that some lenders charge line fees on a monthly basis (i.e. 0.25% per month or 3% when annualised) and others per annum (i.e. 1.5% per annum). Make sure you factor that into your decision making process.
Interest rate (per annum)
This is the fee charged only on the amount drawn down at any one point. For example, if you have a loan limit of $1 million, and you’ve drawn down $200,000, you pay interest on the $200,000.
There's a lot to take in so it's important to get the right people on board.
Different lenders have different offerings and navigating them can be tricky. Then there are the professionals you have to deal with: the project manager, the quantity surveyor, the builder... Check out this article for a quick overview of what to look out for.
We're here to help. Get in touch and we can help you work through it all.
New to the whole property development thing and don't know where to start?
We've got a guide for that. Find out how to begin, what to consider along the way and how to set yourself up for success.
Introducing our team of experts who happen to be nuts about property.
One of the best things you can do to minimise risk is make sure you’ve surrounded yourself with smart people who know what they’re doing and can guide you through the process.
At Squirrel, we’re brokers and property finance experts first and foremost— and we have a specialist team who live and breathe development funding every day.
Here's who you need to talk to about your project.
Plus all of our advisers work across a range of property development projects and are more than happy to help.
Less forms and less fuss, happy days.
We’ve built relationships with lenders across the length and breadth of the industry—including both banks and non-banks—which enable us to regularly coordinate funding for projects up to $20 million.
Having us organise the finance frees you up to focus on the stuff that's important to you.
David, Auckland
New Zealand
"Dealing with Squirrel has been a breath of fresh air. After a quick meeting to discuss, and the proposal approved straight away was outstanding. After dealing with others, we could not believe it was so simple and quick."
It all starts with a conversation
Let's have one!
If you're new to property development, chances are you've got questions
Here are some answers to a few of the common ones. Can't find what you're looking for? Give our friendly team a bell on 0800 21 22 30.
Don’t just take our word for it
Victoria
New Zealand
Outstanding guidance and service from Adam. I don't know why someone wouldn't use Squirrel. Accessible responsive knowledgeable understanding of our situation and goals and making it all so easy, we were so grateful to work with Adam and Squirrel and recommend the them both without hesitation!
Luke Murray
New Zealand
It was a great experience. The refinance helped me greatly and put me in a position to keep my apartment
Christa
New Zealand
A huge thank you to my advisor, Kat. She worked so hard to get a mortgage offer for me. She admitted that as I did not tick all of the boxes, she would have to present my case differently. I'm so grateful that she didn't give up on me, as other mortgage brokers had. She is so hard working, clever, lovely and friendly. I would recommend Kat to anyone looking to purchase a house.
Mark Karen
New Zealand
We've used Squirrel investment and mortgage services. On the investment front, we found it easy to use and the interest rates were excellent, selling our investments was easy when we needed to as well. Mortgage services were great too - Emma listened to what we needed, and our circumstances and got us a fantastic deal. The process was smooth from start to finish, with excellent communication and advice along the way.