Start with the repayment plan
Bridging finance is short-term borrowing secured against property. Before focusing on how quickly funds might be available, explain how you intend to repay the loan. A sale or a later mortgage needs careful assessment; neither should be treated as guaranteed.
For advised regulated mortgage sales, the FCA's rules on advised sales require an adviser recommending a bridging loan to make the customer aware that the lender will need a clearly understood, credible repayment strategy. Ask your adviser which protections apply to the particular loan you are considering.
Make the timetable concrete
- What is the purchase or funding deadline, and which legal or valuation steps remain?
- What evidence supports the proposed sale or refinancing?
- If works are planned, what must be finished before the proposed exit?
- What would happen if the sale, works or new mortgage took longer than expected?
Take these questions to the adviser and solicitor before committing to a transaction. A hoped-for completion date is not a funding promise.
Request the full cost and repayment figures
Ask for a written breakdown of interest, lender and broker fees, valuation and legal costs, and any exit or extension charges. Ask how interest is collected and what amount would need to be repaid at the planned end date. Check the consequences of delay or default in the actual terms rather than comparing a monthly rate in isolation.
Consider the alternatives
Explain why short-term finance is being considered and ask what other routes are available for your circumstances. Our bridging finance service is a starting point for that conversation, not a promise of acceptance or completion speed.
This is general preparation information, not a recommendation to borrow. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a loan secured against it.