Bridging finance, arranged by someone who does it properly
Bridging rewards the broker who knows which lender moves fastest on your kind of case, and punishes the one who is learning on your deadline. Describe the case anonymously and compare the specialists who put themselves forward.
What bridging is for
A bridging loan is short-term borrowing secured on property, usually measured in months. It exists to cover a gap, and the gap is normally one of these:
- Buying before selling, a chain break, or a purchase you cannot afford to lose while your own sale completes.
- Auction purchases, where completion deadlines are measured in weeks and a standard mortgage cannot move that fast.
- Unmortgageable property, no kitchen, no bathroom, severe disrepair, short lease, where mainstream lenders decline and a refurbishment changes that.
- Refurbishment and conversion, funding the works and refinancing onto a normal mortgage or buy-to-let once finished.
- A deadline the mainstream market cannot meet, for any other reason.
Regulated and unregulated, and why it matters to you
This is the part most sites skate over, so here it is plainly.
Bridging secured on a home you live in or intend to live in is a regulated mortgage contract. It carries the usual protections: advice standards, disclosure rules, and access to the Financial Ombudsman Service if something goes wrong.
Bridging on an investment or commercial property is generally unregulated. The loan sits outside the FCA’s mortgage rules, the protections are thinner, and in most cases the Ombudsman is not available. That is normal and legitimate in this market, but you should know which one you are in before you sign anything.
Either way, every broker on the Broker Finder panel is an FCA-authorised firm, vetted against the FCA Register. The regulatory status of the loan can vary; the status of the firm arranging it does not.
The things that decide a bridging case
The exit. How the loan gets repaid, normally a sale or a refinance, is what lenders scrutinise hardest. A credible, evidenced exit is the case. A vague one is a declined application, or worse, an approved one you regret.
Cost is charged monthly, not annually. Bridging is priced per month and interest is often rolled up rather than paid as you go. Ask for the total cost to redemption, including arrangement and exit fees, in pounds. The monthly figure on its own tells you very little.
Term discipline. Overrunning is where bridging gets expensive. Build in more time than the plan needs.
Lender fit is everything. Bridging lenders differ enormously on property types, locations, borrower profiles and how fast they genuinely move. This is knowledge, not comparison-table work, and it is the entire reason to use a specialist.
How the blind comparison works
Answer a short questionnaire in rough bands. Your case goes to the panel anonymously, brokers who cover bridging put themselves forward, and you compare them on their profiles. Only the one you choose gets your details. For a market where handing over a phone number usually starts a stampede, that is the point.
Fast finance, slow sales process.
See which bridging specialists put themselves forward for your case.
Free to use · anonymous until you choose · no credit check · walk away at any point
Bridging questions, answered straight
How fast can it actually complete?
A few weeks is common and faster happens on straightforward cases, but the brake is almost always valuation and legal work rather than the lender’s decision. Instructing solicitors early and having the exit evidenced at the outset makes more difference than anything else.
Can I get bridging with poor credit?
Often, because bridging lenders weigh the security and the exit more heavily than credit history. That said, serious adverse credit can affect the refinance you are relying on to exit, which is the part worth thinking through first. See our credit history page.
What happens if my exit falls through?
This is the risk that defines bridging. Extensions are sometimes possible and are not cheap, and the lender’s ultimate recourse is the security. Ask any broker what the plan B is before you take the loan, not after. A specialist will have asked you first.
What does Broker Finder charge me?
Nothing. Broker Finder is free to use. We are an introducer, not a lender or a broker, and we never recommend a product. Your chosen broker sets their own fees and must disclose them before you commit, as our fees guide explains.