Bridging finance is a type of short-term mortgage secured against your property. Investment property, buy-to-let property, a trophy home or holiday home can be used as security for this type of loan.

Bridging loans can last from a week to three years. They are most commonly used in the UK if you want to buy a new home before your current home as sold, and to break property chains. However, they can also be a mechanism to release equity from your home quickly before refinancing with another lender, or to purchase property at auction where there is usually a very tight deadline to settle funds.

Bridging loans can also be used to buy a new home before your current property sells, renovate a property before you put it up for sale or upsize or downsize without going through a lengthy mortgage process. There’s practically no limit to how this type of financing can be used.