Loans Blog

The most commonly understood type of bridging loan is one that is taken to fund the purchase of a new property prior to the sale of an existing one - meaning that the temporary financial shortfall can be breached until the repayment funds are released.

But bridging loans can be used for quite a variety of other circumstances. For example, if a company sees a great opportunity to make a profit on a volume stock purchase, but is in financial difficulty, the company can arrange short-term bridging loan finance to fund the purchase of that stock. They can then repay the bridging loan once the stock has been sold and use the profit to get company finances back on track. It's simple and it works.

Bridging Loans for short-term financial obligations are easy to arrange because the loan is backed by collateral, so the background checks required are less extensive than with other kinds of personal loan.

This can make the whole process of arranging a bridging loan surprisingly quick and easy.

Oh my God! I ate one tiny piece of chocolate cake yesterday and I've put on about ten stone!! It's not fair, Jennie from the commercial loans department eats about seven bags of crisps a day and still looks like a rake.

I need to be thin before my date on Friday. There just isn't time! If only I could make some kind of deal to get the body I want instantly and then do the exercise afterwards to pay for it... a bit like a bridging loan for fatties!

A commercial bridging loan is a simple, short-term kind of loan that enables you to borrow a lump sum of money in order to purchase land or property right away.

This is typically used in a scenario where you also have land or property to sell - repaying the short-term loan when the sale of your existing land or property is completed.

I saw some really nice shoes I wanted to buy today. Only thing was, I couldn't afford to buy them until I'd sold the ones I bought last week. I was confident Sandra would buy them, but I hadn't actually made the sale.

Luckily, I managed to arrange a sort of bridging loan with Trisha - she was kind enough to lend me the money to buy the new shoes until I could sell the old shoes and pay her back. Fantastic, I thought.

People often ask me, "Just what is a bridging loan, then?"

No, really they do. In fairness, it's usually when I'm wearing my T-shirt that says on it "Ask me what a bridging loan is", so you'll see it's not actually that unusual.

I always respond by saying:

"A bridging loan, often referred to as 'bridging finance', is simply a no-nonsense loan taken out to bridge the financial gap between the sale of an existing property and the purchase of new one."

People go home more knowledgeable than they were that morning, and I go home feeling happy because my choice of T-shirt afforded me another chance to give a little bit back to the world. Everyone's a winner.

When Carlsberg bought Scottish & Newcastle in a joint deal with Heineken, they did so using a bridging loan to finance the £7.8bn deal.

They have now announced a £3.2bn rights issue to repay the bridging loan.

Not many people know the true nature of the wise advice James Brown was trying to instill into property buyers when he famously remarked "Take it to the bridge."

His typical 110% enthusiasm and energy, caused him to run out of breath before completing the sentence, which should have concluded "Take it to the bridging loan."

This is, of course, 'soul speak' - meaning "Take out a bridging loan to finance your next property move."

What a genius.

Please note - these facts may not actually be facts, but a very knowledgeable bloke in the pub told me them and I have no reason to doubt him.

Bridging finance is not just the reserve of private home buyers who know how to stop their dreams slipping away, a bridging loan is also commonly sought after to finance commercial property purchases.

This allows you to close quickly on a commercial property deal, and then pay back the loan after the sale of a property - refinancing with a more standard kind of loan.

Spoiled kids who blow their 'allowance' on pre-shredded jeans and nauseating ringtones, go to their foolish parents with pathetically fake faces and get another ill-deserved sympathy hand-out. Teaching them nothing.

That now applies to the relationship between major financial institutions and the government, it seems. Having lent vast sums of money, that simply weren't there, to vast numbers of borrowers, who were only too happy to oblige, lenders have now gone to the government with their bottom lips out and their heads cocked to one side.

The result? The government has patted them on the head, said "There, there, little Timmy" and given them a £50billion bridging loan!

So what do the rest of us get as a reward for NOT hemorrhaging cash like there's no tomorrow? Oh, another rise in the cost of living. Thanks dad, I'm sure it'll make me a better person.

A bridging loan - or 'bridging finance' - is simply a short term secured loan, that can be arranged promptly to cover a shortfall in your finances. Typically, a bridging loan is used to finance the purchase of property, usually when the sale of an existing property is not completed in time to make payment on a new property.

If you've ever had a temporary filling from the dentist, you'll know that it's a whole lot better than just leaving a big old hole in your tooth - even if it is for a relatively short period of time. The pain just wouldn't be worth enduring.

Well, a bridging loan does the same kind of thing; instead of having to suffer the pain of losing your dream property because you can't sell your existing one in time, bridging finance fills the gap - allowing you to make the new purchase ahead of the sale of your previous property. Then, all you do is pay back the loan when you sell the old place - simple and painless!

When Indian motor company, Tata, recently bought the Land Rover & Jaguar brands from Ford, they had to get a bit creative to come up with the readies.

If, like me, you get a bit twitchy borrowing a few quid off someone to tide you over until payday, then imagine arranging a bridging loan of $3bn to overcome a small cashflow problem!

Tata have arranged the bridging finance for a period of 15 months - imagine the interest on that!

It's highly unlikely that Simon or Garfunkel will ever need to look into bridging finance, but if you're having trouble selling one set of bricks and mortar to fund the purchase of another one that you've already found, then a bridging loan is the perfect answer that'll leave you feelin' groovy!

First Direct has decided not to offer any further mortgages to consumers who are not already customers of the bank.

The reason is cited as a necessary move to enable the addressing of a backlog of requests for the bank's products after experiencing a surprisingly high demand.

Reacting to the news on the BBC web site, Doug Segal commented: "I think this is a sensible move by a bank that has historically been very fussy about who they give accounts to. It's media scaremongering...that turned the Northern Rock frame into a full-blown crisis when, if they had been quietly given a bridging loan, they could have probably resolved their issues without creating this atmosphere of banking mistrust and destabilisation."

A commercial bridging loan is the quickest way of freeing up immediate funds for your business. It provides fast cash with minimum fuss. A commercial bridging loan enables you to bridge a financial gap for a short term. Selling a property can be time-consuming, wheras commercial needs are often more urgent. A commercial bridging loan is a no-hassle solution.

You've seen that perfect property - commercial or domestic. You want to buy it NOW before someone else snatches it from under your nose. Only problem is, you haven't sold your existing property to finance it. Not a problem, a bridging loan is the perfect solution to this exact situation - bridging finance allows you to borrow the funds to finance the move until you sell your old property and repay the loan.

During the last property boom, there was little need for Bridging Loans, as houses were being snapped up relatively quickly.

However, in the current, slowing economical climate, the housing market is more likely to be regularly throwing up that most frustrating house-buying scenario again: you've found the perfect home, but can't get yours sold quick enough to free-up the capital before someone swoops in and gets there before you.

That's where a Bridging Loan comes in to play - allowing you access to the necessary capital to keep your house dream a reality. Buy your new home with the Bridging Finance and re-pay when you've shifted your old house. Simple!

These loans can be expensive, but may save you from wasting money already invested in the expensive business of moving. For the best Bridging Finance deals available, talk to a Bridging Loans Advisor who will save you time and money in finding the best deal for you.

..when it's at home? Well, when someone is looking to bridge their mortgage, it often means they're looking for bridging finance or a bridging loan to cover a short term lack of funds until a guaranteed payout of funds within a short term time period, hence the term "bridge".

These types of specialist finance packages often need to be organised fast as they are often required in an emergency or to solve a last-minute finance problem.

We specialise in this type of loan (for personal AND commercial finance) and have a team of underwriters ready to take your online bridging loan application or call on 0845 434 9077 after which they will shop around to get the best priced and fastest deal on the market for you.

This was asked of me yesterday: do the bank of scotland do bridging loans? Well, they do provide a definition of bridging loans on their website as:

"A loan used for a short period where there's a certainty of repayment from a specific event such as the sale of fixed assets."

Which makes sense. What doesn't make sense is specifically wanting a bridging loan from a specific lender without checking the rest of the market first - so you get the best rate.

Let our friendly underwriters take a look at your circumstances to see if they can get you the best rate by calling 0845 434 9077 or checking our bridging loan info here where you can click to use our easy online application form.

Bridging loans are generally loans needed in an emergency to "bridge" the finance requirement between one event and another.

We can provide Bridging Loans for these common reasons:

* When funds are required within days rather than weeks
* Buying a property at auction
* Refurbishing or converting a property
* Purchasing property where the surveyor recommends a retention
* To help homeowners who have been or are about to be repossessed
* To stop bankruptcy
* Chain-breaking mortgage

With our panel of Bridging Loan Lenders we can arrange competitive quotes for our clients and offer a wide range of products to suit all lending requirements.

Just call us on 0845 434 9077 or click here for further information: Bridging Loans Information

If you're looking for Bridging Finance in Scotland, you can call us for a quote on 0845 434 9077 9am - 7pm, or fill out our quick and simple bridging finance application form here. We'll be able to get money to you in days, not weeks, as we can source bridging finance from a panel of over 50 bridging finance specialists lenders.

If you need Bridging Finance for any the following common reasons:

* Purchasing property at auction
* Property refurbishment or conversion
* Chain-breaking mortgage
* Purchasing property where the surveyor recommends a retention
* To help homeowners who have been or are about to be repossessed
* To stop bankruptcy
* When funds are required within days rather than weeks

With our varied panel of Bridging Loan Finance Lenders we can arrange competitive quotes for our clients and offer a wide range of products to suit all lending requirements.

Click Here to Apply for a Bridging Loan Online Anytime or Call us on 0845 434 9077

Here's an audition from our Bridging Loan Finance virtual host. Leave us a comment - if you don't like him, we'll sack him!