Bridging finance

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The most common type of bridging finance to support those who wish to acquire property that isn't quite in a habitable state for a high street lender to secure a traditional mortgage against.

Growing in popularity as clients look to invest in projects to make capital growth. With heavy refurbishment you would be seeking finance to enable you to extend a property,  make structural alterations to the property or carry out works that are likely to take more than 3 months.

Over the years we have seen property 'chains' get bigger and bigger, thus creating more risk of property sells/purchases falling through. Using bridging finance may provide a strategy to save a 'chain' breaking. Single and cross collateral charging methods are often available to clients in this situation.

Much like the light refurbishment, the difference here is that the exit strategy isn't to sell the property, instead to rent the property out on completion. With Bridge to let products you will essentially apply for the bridging finance and the traditional mortgage application all at the same time. With most mortgage lenders requiring ownership of the property for anything between 6-12 months, this is an ideal solution to exit the bridging arrangement.

Most clients looking to build their own home think that development finance is the only option, well, bridging is also available. This option has less impact on a clients monthly cashflow which is sometimes more important than the worry of the total balance repayable. To establish whether this style of bridging is right for you, please speak to one of our commercial planners to discuss your circumstances and needs.

London is a great example whereby the lack of land has seen more buildings growing vertically as opposed to laterally, resulting in a huge increase in the volume of flats in the property market. A common theme in the media relates to the short term left on leasehold arrangements, a bridge may provide a suitable strategy for you to get the lease extension completed before transitioning to a traditional high street mortgage