Bridging finance to buy before you sell
When the home you want comes up before the one you are selling has completed, a bridging loan lets you buy now and repay when your sale goes through.
Bridging for a chain break or onward purchase
Property chains break. A buyer pulls out, a sale slips, or the home you want will not wait for your own sale to complete. Bridging finance closes that gap. We arrange a short-term loan secured against property so you can buy the onward home now and repay the bridge in full once your existing sale completes.
Chain break is one of the most common reasons people reach for a bridge. Bridging Trends puts the share of bridging used to prevent a chain break at around 18% of contributor lending in 2025, and the average bridging term at 12 months, which is comfortable headroom for a sale to complete. You are not committing to a 12-month loan, you are buying time and repaying the day the chain clears.
An important point on regulation. Where the bridge is secured on a property you or a close family member live in or will live in, it is a regulated bridging loan and sits inside the Financial Conduct Authority's regulated mortgage perimeter. We are a finance arranger and introducer, not an authorised lender, so we refer that case to a regulated firm. Where the security is an investment or commercial property the lending is unregulated and we arrange it directly.
What we fund
- Buying an onward home before your current sale completes
- Releasing equity from a home you are selling to fund the deposit on the next one
- Downsizing or chain-free purchases where speed wins the property
- Bridging a delayed completion when a buyer in your chain slips
- Securing a property at a discount that depends on a fast, unconditional exchange
Indicative terms
- Indicative ratefrom around 0.88% per month (Bridging Trends, 2025 average)
- Typical LTVaround 60% on average, higher on strong cases (indicative)
- Termup to around 12 months, repaid on your sale
- Interestusually retained or rolled up, so no monthly payments
- Speedweeks, not months; faster cases inside 2 to 3 weeks
- Chargefirst or second charge against the property you are selling or buying
Indicative only. Terms vary by lender, security and borrower and are not an offer of finance.
How the finance works
We secure the bridge against the property you are selling, the one you are buying, or both, and size the loan so the gross amount, the retained interest and the fees all sit comfortably within the value of the security. Because interest is normally retained or rolled up rather than paid monthly, there is no payment to service while the loan runs, which matters when you are already carrying an existing mortgage. The day-one figure released to you is the net loan after the lender deducts retained interest and fees from the gross facility, so we model the gross-to-net carefully before anything is agreed. The average bridge completes in around 55 days end to end, but a clean chain-break case with a ready valuation and an agreed sale can move a great deal faster.
Which lenders back it
Chain-break bridging is core business for the specialist short-term lenders and the regulated bridging desks. When the security is your own home we refer the case to an FCA-authorised firm that can offer a regulated bridging loan. When it is an investment property we place it directly with unregulated bridging lenders who price the risk on the strength of the security and the credibility of your sale. After 25 years on the lender side we know which desks move quickly on a residential chain break and which want a fuller story, so we match the case to the right one rather than send it everywhere.
The exit
The exit is the completed sale of your existing property at its local market price. This is what every lender underwrites first, so we evidence it: the agreed sale price, the buyer's position, the solicitor handling the conveyance and a realistic timetable to completion. Where a sale is not yet agreed we model a sale at a conservative valuation rather than an optimistic one, and we always keep the term long enough that a slipped completion does not force a fire sale. If the sale stalls, the fallback is a refinance onto a longer-term mortgage, which we plan for from the outset.
Finance that suits this
- Bridging financeThe core short-term facility that funds the gap between buying and selling.
Discuss a chain break or onward purchase
A view on fundability within one working day.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy a new house before I sell my current one?
Yes. A bridging loan lets you complete on the onward purchase and repay once your existing sale goes through. The loan is secured against property and repaid in full from the sale proceeds.
Is a bridge to buy before I sell regulated?
If it is secured on a home you or a close family member live in or will live in, it is a regulated bridging loan inside the FCA perimeter, and we refer it to an authorised firm. If the security is an investment property, the lending is unregulated and we arrange it directly.
Do I make monthly payments on the bridge?
Usually not. Interest is normally retained or rolled up and settled when the loan is repaid, so there is nothing to service month to month while you carry your existing mortgage.
How much can I borrow against the home I am selling?
Indicatively around 60% loan-to-value on average, with stronger cases going higher. The figure depends on the value of the security, any existing mortgage and the strength of your sale. It is illustrative, not an offer.
How quickly can it complete?
The market average is around 55 days, but a clean chain-break case with a ready valuation and an agreed sale can complete in two to three weeks.
What happens if my sale falls through?
We keep the term long enough that a delay does not force a rushed sale, and we plan a fallback refinance onto a longer-term mortgage. The exit is always agreed before the loan is drawn.
What does it cost?
Expect an arrangement fee, a valuation, legal costs and interest at an indicative rate from around 0.88% per month on the 2025 market average. We give you the gross-to-net figures in writing before you commit.
Planning a chain break or onward purchase?
Tell us about the property and the exit and we will come back with a view on fundability and likely terms.