There are well over 150 bridging loan providers in the UK. These range from large lending institutions to private individuals.
With so many lenders, interest rates, fees and other costs vary considerably, but so does the lending criteria. Every lender has their own criteria, some look to do the low risk facilities, others specialise, having their own niche facilities.
Our extensive panel of lenders allows us to provide the following:
£100,000 to £1 billion
Although in theory there is no upper limit
1 day to 36 months
By definition a bridging loan is a short term facility ranging from 1 day to 12 months.
However, most bridging lenders offer terms up to 18 months (12 months maximum for regulated bridging loans).
Some lenders provide short term loan facilities up to 36 months.
Please note - Regulated loans are limited to 12 months due to FCA regulations.
Most bridging loan providers require property as security. This could be just one property, or several. They will secure their loan by taking a charge over the property or properties. This is registered at land registry by way of a first charge, second charge or even a third charge.
A first charge is used when the property is unencumbered (no existing loans or mortgages secured against it), or if the existing lender is being cleared using some or all of the proceeds of the bridging loan.
Second and third charges are used when there is an existing charge but it is not being cleared.
We can look at all property types:
Residential property is the most popular type of security, so attract the cheapest deals.
There are some lenders who will lend against assets such as jewellery, watches, vehicles, antiques, gold, precious gems and art. Please call us for further information.
Bridging lenders will lend on properties that are in a poor state of repair, in need of restoration or need to be completely demolished.
Bridging loans are a perfect solution for raising funds against property considered unsuitable for mortgage purposes.
Loan facilities are available nationwide:
We also have facilities for:
Bridging loans are available to individuals and businesses. Facilities can be set up for:
From 18 years old upwards. Some lenders have an upper limit, some do not. However the applicant needs to be completely aware of what they are doing, unless there is a Power of Attorney in place.
Bridging lenders are less concerned about income or credit history than for other forms of borrowing. This is because it is possible to roll up the interest payments and arrangement fees into the loan, so that you are not required to make any monthly payments.
If your planned exit is the sale of the security property then, so long as there is a high likelihood of it selling during the term of the loan, the lender will be less worried about your income or credit history.
However, if your planned exit strategy for the loan is refinance, for example with a residential or buy to let mortgage, then your credit history will be relevant as you will need to meet the lender’s criteria.
Many lenders have facilities available for:
As part of the application process the lender will still undertake a credit search, but they will be more concerned about checking for fraud markers on your file. They may choose to ignore other negatives on your credit record, so long as they are happy with your proposed exit strategy.
For bridging loans where the exit is the sale of a property, meaning that the bridging loan is going to be cleared from the funds received from a property sale, many facilities do not require any proof of income.
However, if the exit is going to be through a re-mortgage or other finance facility, bridging lenders will probably want to evidence of your income and possibly even your regular outgoings.
This is because they will want to see that you are in a suitable financial position to obtain the re-mortgage, or other finance, to repay the bridging loan.
Another time where lenders may want to see income proof, even if exit is sale, is when you intend to make monthly interest payments on the bridging loan. If you wish to make monthly payments as park of your bridging loan agreement, then you will need to evidence that you can afford to make these payments.
Many bridging lenders are not set up to take monthly repayments, so paying the interest monthly may not even be an option in many cases.
For the vast majority of bridging loans, monthly interest payments are not required as the interest is paid at the end, when the loan is cleared.
Bridging loans can be used for almost any legal purpose, including:
Read more about bridging loan uses
Most facilities are set up with roll up, deferred or retained interest. This means that the interest is repaid when the loan is redeemed. If required interest can be paid each month on many facilities, but this usually requires confirmation of income and affordability proof.
Last updated: 22 November 2023 | © KIS Bridging Loans 2020
