Independent bridging loans from leading lenders

As with any fair investment company, and certainly with a mortgage, there are sets of criteria that must be met to secure bridge loans. Typically, you will need to have perfect exit strategies, adequate and steady income, a property that matches the value of the loan, and decent credit history.

Being regulated protects you from any form of mis-selling and bad advice, amongst other things, and allows you to log complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

If, however, you take out a bridging loan that is secured on a property that you, your partner or a close family member do not live in, it is likely to be exempt from FCA regulations. This is often the case for buy to let properties.

Just like a mortgage, you will also need proof of income to secure bridge finance. This is crucial to ensure you can make up for any deficiencies that may arise if the sale of a property falls through.

The usual length of these loans is 12 months, but the time allotted before payback of the loan can range as high as three years. There are also some forms of bridging that can last for only a few months. But one year is certainly the industry standard based on a typical residential type of bridging.

Yes, you must have some form of acceptable collateral in order to qualify for bridging loans. This is almost always a house that you are placing for sale, but depending on the type of loan you are seeking, this could also come in the form of expensive items like jewellery, vehicles, or something of great value that the lender is willing to accept. You can use a bridging loan calculator to calculate exactly how much you can expect to receive based on the value of your property or the miscellaneous item in question, but it would be worth speaking to a lender first to get approval.