Barry and Julia Milward launched Southern Cross Partners 26 years ago, naming the company after the iconic Shaw, Savill & Albion Line ship on which Barry emigrated from the UK in the 1960s.
The Southern Cross Partners name is symbolic of the new opportunities and the new life New Zealand offered, much like the opportunities SCP provides to New Zealanders. SCP is all about helping people get from A to B with specialist short-term loans where the bank won’t lend.
An integral part of making sure we’re securing the right types of loans is through property visits. It’s a great way to get a feel for a property and track its progress. Equally, it’s a great way to build relationships with borrowers, especially where construction and renovation is involved.. Barry and Julia conduct our site visits and have shared the most important details they look for.
There are three main reasons we conduct site visits:
- Support finance application. We want to get our own feel for the property, so we conduct site visits before making a loan decision to ensure it all stacks up with the application.
- Support construction application. Construction loans are more closely looked at to ensure the construction development plan is achievable within the loan term.
- To assess loan renewals. If a borrower on our books wants to renew their loan for a further term, we might revisit a site to ensure everything’s still on track. Sometimes sites deteriorate or don’t progress, and we can better analyse this with a site visit. This is especially important with construction loans.
We’re on the lookout for specifics at site visits:
- Neighbourhood check. We like to get a feel for the location and the neighbourhood. What are the surrounding properties like? Are they tidy? Are there any detrimental elements?
- Site check. We then want to ensure the property is similar to its application description. Is there anything out of the ordinary or that we need to query? For construction loans we also want to understand the characteristics such as any slopes or access issues that may bring construction challenges.
- Amenity check. We also need to consider resale value into the application process. Knowing where local amenities are such as motorways, public transport access, school, and shops are key focus areas.
We also focus on follow-up site visits. Making sure progress is maintained as we help people leverage new opportunities is exactly what we stand for, and building those relationships brings us real satisfaction.