Financial solutions for Approved Property Inspectors

The quality of the built environment, and the safety of the people that use it makes many demands on Approved Building Inspectors. You need expert knowledge of all aspects of building regulations. You need Construction Industry Council (CIC) approval with recognised qualifications. You  must be re-approved every five years, and must have insurance from an approved scheme. 

You will need to be involved at every stage of building projects, from supporting clients with adie on building regulations and the documentation though to inspecting work in progress and issuing final certification..

If you are running your own business, either on your own or with partners, you will also need solutions to all the usual costs of running a commercial concern. 

As with any business, getting the most cost-effective funding you need can be a challenge - and essential for the success of your venture.

At Rangewell, we work with both established and newly qualified Approved Building inspectors across the UK to help them find the financial solutions that they need.

Understanding your funding needs as an Approved Building Inspector

You may need to find the right type of funding option to allow you to:

• Acquire premises
• Acquire equipment and assets
• Provide working capital
• Fund professional indemnity cover
• Cashflow finance
• Finance growth 
• Deal with tax
• Deal with problems

Setting up as an Approved Building Inspector

If you are ready to set up as an independent Approved Building Inspector, perhaps after some years building up your experience within a larger organisation, you may believe that your funding needs are small.  

However, although your skills and experience will be your main professional asset, building up a list of profitable clients and achieving enough momentum to generate business through referrals could take years.

There will also be all the overheads of running a regular business. A serviced office will require an upfront payment while renting a small, independent office will require you to source everything from a desk and chair to a computer. Electricity and business rates will also have to be paid for.

You may have secured clients who are ready to call on your services - but you will need to commit funds to establish your presence and find new sources of work. You will also have professional liability insurance to cover.

Your bank may not be able to lend if you’re starting up a new business venture - despite your status as a qualified professional. An overdraft used to be a versatile solution for fledgeling businesses, but since the credit crunch, these may also be increasingly difficult to arrange. Remember, along with the costs of running your business, you will also be faced with the need to budget to provide an income for yourself to live on.

At Rangewell, we understand the challenges - and know the lenders who can support new business ventures. Find out more about new business funding for approved building inspectors.

Buying into an existing building inspector business

If you are an experienced building inspector, it may be possible to buy into an existing practice as a partner or even buy it outright. 

The costs involved may depend on the turnover of the practice as it stands, along with its potential. Alternatively, if you already own an established practice, you might want to consider acquisitions, mergers or expansion. 

The costs involved may be substantial - but, at Rangewell, we can help you secure funding to let you buy into an established practice, which can reflect your professional status with highly competitive rates.

These include funding for partner buy-ins and buyouts, which will let you become a partner or acquire an entire business.

We can also provide solutions to let you selectively acquire assets - such as the goodwill and client list - from an existing business which may be closing down for reasons such as retirement.

The scale of funding involved for business acquisition may make a secured loan the most appropriate solution. This may be easy to arrange if you have property, such as your home, to act as security - but we may also be able to find funding solutions that can offer affordable funding even if you are not a homeowner.

Funding premises for Approved Building Inspectors

You may be able to operate from your home, at least initially - but having dedicated premises will allow you to present a more professional impression for your business.

The actual cost of renting even a small serviced office will depend on your location, and the square footage you need. You may need upfront funding to secure the agreement - we can provide a number of solutions to help you.

However, renting means ongoing costs and leaves your risk of rent increases. Buying premises with a commercial mortgage could potentially decrease your monthly outgoings and provide your business with a valuable asset for the future. All commercial property finance is arranged on an individual basis - but as a qualified professional, we should be able to help you find solutions which will let you buy the premises you already operate from or buy a new freehold property to use as your offices in the future.

Refurbishing premises for your Approved building Inspection Business

Buying premises may be a sound move for your practice, but you may find that your ideal property requires additional investment to bring premises up to the standard you need for your business.

We can provide solutions which will help you finance all types of property refurbishments - from the simplest light decoration to major extensions and building work.

Equipment funding for your Approved Building Inspectors

Whether you are starting up, buying into an existing business, or ready to take your business to the next level, you will need equipment. Your IT setup, your computers and printer will be expensive items, and you may need specialised software with operating licenses and renewals, training and maintenance.  

But the list of equipment you need will not stop there. You will also need to furnish your office, and you may need to provide vehicles.

Asset Funding may provide the most cost-effective solution for most equipment needs. You may prefer Hire Purchase for items that you will wish to keep, such as desks, chairs and document storage. Leasing may be more appropriate for your IT, as it will allow you to update to use the latest and most reliable technology whenever you need it. Contract Hire might help you reduce the costs of providing the vehicles you need for site visits.

At Rangewell, our experts can help you find the most appropriate Asset Funding solutions for your practice, with both HP and lease agreements, together with Business Contract Hire for your vehicles.

Cashflow finance for Approved Building Inspectors 

Balancing monies in twith monies paid out is at the core of any business. Cashflow is especially crucial during the early stages of an operation, when work may not be coming in as smoothly as you might wish, but while fixed overheads, from rent to council tax and utility bills will mean that outgoings still need to be provided for.

Cashflow support and Working Capital Finance may be necessary to provide cash to deal with the overheads. It is usually designed to be repaid in the short- to medium-term, once a new venture is fully on its feet, and ins generating profits. 

Growth Finance for Approved Building Inspectors

You may be intending to run your business as a sole trader, or perhaps to take on only part-time staff to help with administration as the need arises. However, you may also want to consider growing your business and taking on part-qualified staff to help you deal with a larger volume of work.

If you are planning on growing your business organically, or have plans such as acquiring a competitor, specialised Growth Finance can help. Lenders may require an established trading history and record of profits, but it may be possible to arrange Growth Finance based on your profit projections, rather than on your trading history. Find out more about Growth Finance for Approved Building Inspectors.

Funding Professional Indemnity Insurance for Approved Building Inspectors

Professional indemnity insurance (PII), or errors and omissions insurance (E&O) as it is sometimes known, provides cover against claims of negligence, which may include consequent damage resulting from your work. It is often an essential requirement of a contract to be issued where your professional services are being provided to a developer or contractor.

Professional indemnity insurance can be a major expense, particularly if you work in the corporate commercial sector where liabilities may potentially reach into the millions. It may have to include Run-off Cover which will still continue to provide cover when your business, or you as an individual, are no longer trading. The fact that at you have ceased practice does not necessarily mean that the possibility of claims has come to an end and, in fact, liability and claims can arise for years after projects have been completed and signed off. It is, therefore, essential that you maintain PII for as long as such a risk exists, and this means that the necessary cover can be costly.

Fortunately, there are ways to deal with the costs involved. Contact us to find out about solutions for professional indemnity for Approved Building Inspectors.

Tax Loans for Approved Building Inspectors

Whatever business you are in, you will be faced with tax bills. As an Approved Building Inspector, you could face problems when a large quarterly VAT or annual tax demand arrives at a time when your cash flow is not as healthy as you might wish.

Tax Loans help you to spread the cost of your tax demands into affordable monthly payments, can be simple to arrange - and avoids issues with HMRC and the associated financial and reputational penalties.

See how a Tax Loan can mean better control of cash flow for Approved Building Inspectors with fixed monthly payments.

Invoice Finance for Approved Building Inspectors

No matter how good your relationship with your clients, you may find that large corporate organisations may take months to pay your invoices. With an Invoice Finance arrangement, you can draw down cash can as soon as work is done, and you issue an invoice. It means that your practice can rely on a flow of cash that keeps pace with the amount of business you do.

Find out more about Invoice Finance for Approved Building Inspectors.

Goodwill Loans for Approved Building Inspectors.

As a professional running his or her own business, you represent an excellent prospect for lenders - especially once you have been in business for a number of years and have built up a substantial client list.  

There are several ways that this special status can be made to work for you, with preferential rates for many types of lending product. It can also open up the possibility of a Goodwill Loan.

The Goodwill Loan - also known as a cashout - can provide a cash advance secured by the goodwill built up by your business. 

It can bring you a sum typically between £50,000 and £500,000, depending on your annual turnover, with repayments over up to 15 years. Interest rates are variable but tend to be significantly more favourable than those provided by other lending methods.

A Goodwill Loan can be used in any way that you wish - not just for business purposes, making it an effective way for you to benefit from the value you have built up in your business without actually taking cash out from it.

At Rangewell, we can help you find the Goodwill Loan that is right for your business.

Dealing with problems

Any business can run into financial difficulties. Problems with getting paid can become a cashflow crisis, and discovering that you cannot meet your immediate commitments can snowball, and in the worst cases, leave you unable to meet your commitments.

Acting promptly can limit the damage, and at Rangewell, we know the solutions which can help your practice deal with this type of financial challenges.

Lending is more difficult to arrange if your business cannot demonstrate current profitability, but solutions do exist - we can even provide funding solutions if you have a damaged credit history or CCjs.

Contact us to find out more about finance for Approved Building Inspectors facing financial difficulties.

How we can help you capitalise your Approved Building Inspection business

At Rangewell, we understand the business and financial challenges you face as an Approved Building Inspector. 

We also know how to find the most appropriate solutions for your funding needs. We can use our unrivalled knowledge of the lending market, and the products available on it to find the solutions you need.

We know the lenders who can offer the most competitive rates for all types of finance, including Professional Loans, Unsecured and Secured Loans. As well as the more conventional loan products, we can also help you find Alternative Funding, using new loan providers and innovative funding solutions.

So whether you have a straightforward finance need or require a complicated ‘Jigsaw’ funding plan made up of a combination of products, we can work with you to find the answers that are right for you, your practice and your plans for the future.

Call us now to get our experts working for your Approved Building Inspection business.