Specialist residential
Residential bridging finance
Legal work for a short-term bridging loan on residential property, such as a chain break or auction purchase, with a clear exit plan.
This work depends on the details, so our team prepares a quote for you, usually within one working day.
Bridging finance is short term, with higher interest and fees than a standard mortgage. Make sure your exit plan is realistic and that you understand every fee and the default terms before you sign.
Bridging finance is a short-term loan secured on property, used to bridge a gap until longer-term money arrives. Common examples are buying a new home before your old one has sold, completing an auction purchase within its deadline, or buying a property that needs work before a normal mortgage is available. Speed matters, and so does the exit: the plan for repaying the loan, usually by selling a property or refinancing.
Bridging loans carry higher interest and fees than a mortgage, and lenders release money only once their legal conditions are met. Many lenders instruct their own solicitors, so you pay for two firms, and your conveyancer's job is to satisfy the lender's solicitors quickly while protecting your position. Some bridging loans are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, for example where you or a close family member live, or will live, in the property; others are not.
Facilities and deadlines vary widely, so send us the lender's terms and your timetable and our team will prepare a tailored quote, usually within one working day.
What is involved
A bridging transaction usually involves these steps:
- Facility review: your conveyancer reviews the lender's offer or facility letter, explaining the interest, fees, term, default terms and any personal guarantees.
- Title and security: checking the title to each property used as security, including any existing mortgages that must be repaid or whose lender must consent to a second charge.
- Lender's solicitors: answering their enquiries and supplying what they ask for, such as searches, title information and evidence of your exit plan.
- Purchase work: if the loan funds a purchase, running the usual purchase steps alongside, often to an auction or chain deadline.
- Signing: you sign the loan agreement, the legal charge and any guarantees, after the conveyancer has explained them.
- Completion: the lender releases the money, which is used to complete the purchase or repay existing debts.
- After completion: registering the lender's charge at HM Land Registry and, later, dealing with repayment when the property is sold or refinanced.
What the legal fee covers
- Reviewing the facility letter and explaining the key terms
- Checking the title to each security property
- Dealing with the lender's solicitors and their requirements
- Explaining any personal guarantees you are asked to give
- Running the purchase work alongside, if the loan funds a purchase
- Arranging signing of the loan documents
- Completing the drawdown and the purchase or refinance
- Registering the lender's charge at HM Land Registry
Costs you may see on top
- The lender's solicitors' legal fees, which borrowers usually pay
- The lender's arrangement, valuation and exit fees
- Interest, which may be retained from the loan or rolled up and paid at the end
- Searches the lender's solicitors ask for, or insurance in their place
- HM Land Registry fees for registering the charge
- An urgent work fee if the deadline is very short
- Independent legal advice for any guarantor
- Broker fees, which are separate from the legal work
What to have ready
- The bridging lender's offer or facility letter
- Details of every property offered as security, with any existing mortgages
- Evidence of your exit plan, such as an agreed sale or a refinance agreement in principle
- The purchase contract or auction legal pack, if the loan funds a purchase
- Company documents, if the borrower is a company
- Photo identification and proof of address for each borrower and guarantor
How long it takes
Bridging transactions are commonly completed in 2 to 6 weeks, depending on how quickly the valuation is done, the lender's solicitors raise their enquiries and the title information is available. Urgent cases can sometimes move faster where the title is clean and the documents are ready. Delays usually come from a slow valuation, an existing lender that must consent or be repaid, missing evidence for the exit plan or problems with the title. A fast quote is not a promise of fast drawdown, because every lender condition still has to be met.
Things to watch for
- Have a realistic exit plan. If your sale falls through or refinancing is refused, the interest and charges on the loan can build up quickly, and the lender may be able to take possession of the property.
- Check how interest is charged. Retained or rolled-up interest increases the amount you owe at the end, and default interest can be much higher.
- Expect to pay two sets of legal fees: your own conveyancer's and the lender's solicitors'.
- If you give a personal guarantee, you can be personally liable for the debt, and the lender may insist that guarantors take independent legal advice.
- Tell your existing mortgage lender if a second charge will be registered behind its mortgage. Some mortgages do not allow further secured borrowing without consent.
Questions people ask
Why does the lender use its own solicitors?
Many bridging lenders prefer separate representation, so their solicitors act only for the lender while your conveyancer acts for you. It protects the lender's interests, but it means extra correspondence and a second set of fees, which the borrower usually pays. Your conveyancer's role is to answer the lender's solicitors quickly and make sure the documents you sign match what you agreed.
What is an exit strategy?
It is how you will repay the bridging loan at the end of its term, usually by selling a property, refinancing onto a long-term mortgage, or both. Lenders want evidence that the exit is realistic, such as an agreed sale or a mortgage agreement in principle. If the exit fails, extending the loan can be costly, so build in a margin for delays. Our bridging finance guide explains more.
Is bridging finance regulated?
Some bridging loans are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, for example where the loan is secured on a home that you or a close family member live in or will live in. Loans on investment property are often unregulated, which means fewer consumer protections. Your broker or lender will tell you which applies, and your conveyancer will explain the legal effect of the documents.
Can bridging help if my chain breaks?
It can. If your buyer pulls out or is delayed, a bridging loan secured on your current home can let you complete your purchase on time, with the loan repaid when your home sells. Before you commit, compare the interest and fees with the cost of delaying, and ask your conveyancer about the tax position while you own two homes.
Who does the work
Your matter is handled by a law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers or CILEx Regulation, or in Northern Ireland by a solicitor regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. At the moment the law firms on our panel act for property in England and Wales, so for property in Northern Ireland we tell you whether a firm can act for you before we pass your details to anyone. The firm confirms who will work on your file, their experience and its terms before you instruct it. How we choose our firms.