Case: how a 24-apartment building on Zaķusala got funded after every bank said no

"I've been everywhere, and nobody will lend me money."

That sentence started one of our projects almost three years ago. The meeting was arranged by an old acquaintance, a lawyer. Across the table sat a property developer with full folders: outdated visualisations, calculations and a plan to build a 24-apartment building at Zaķusalas krastmala 27.

Today that building is completed and part of the apartments are already sold. This article is about what happened in between. And about why a bank's "no" is often not an answer to "is this project fundable", but to a very different question: "is this project prepared in the bank's language".

The situation: a good project in bad packaging

Honestly, we were sceptical too at the first meeting. A person refused by every bank. Folders with outdated visualisations. But documents are documents, so we said: let's look.

The review showed a different picture. Land title was in order. There was a valuation and a construction estimate. There was a sales plan. The building permit could be renewed.

In other words: the fundamentals were sound. What limped was how the project reached lenders.

Why banks say no to fundable projects

A bank does not assess a dream. A bank assesses risk. And in a development project, risk is defined not only by the asset but by what the credit committee sees on the table, and in what order.

Document quality and sequence. If an application starts with old visualisations instead of a fresh valuation, cost estimate and cash flow, often nobody reads further. Incomplete financing structure. A development project is not one loan. It is tranche financing against construction progress, with revaluation by stage and a clear repayment source from apartment sales. If that structure is missing, the bank will not build it for you. The wrong lender. Not every bank finances small developers without a track record. You can visit five banks and collect five "no"s. That says nothing about the project – only about where you asked.

The 8 months that decided everything

Nothing magical. Methodical preparation.

We assembled the document package the way a lender reads it: current valuation, cost estimate, sales plan with assumptions, cash flow by construction stage. We renewed the building permit. We agreed the structure with the lender: tranches against progress, not one lump sum.

It took 8 months. Then the first development financing payment arrived: 400 000 EUR.

In the client's words: "I didn't believe until the very end that it would happen."

The result

Construction ran in stages, each tranche released against completed work. Sales partners joined during construction and part of the apartments were sold before completion. Pre-sales reduce lender risk and ease every following tranche.

Today the building at Zaķusalas krastmala 27 is completed. Apartments with views of the Daugava and Old Riga are on the market.

Three takeaways for developers

1. A bank's "no" answers your application, not your project.
2. The document package matters more than beautiful renderings.
3. Development finance is a process, not a single payment.

If your project is stuck on financing

We work with 50+ lenders: banks and alternative funders. One bank's "no" is a starting point for us, not a final answer.

Send a short description of your project: the asset, the stage of documentation, how much financing you need. We will tell you honestly whether it is fundable and what to fix first.

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