And because the bridge loan is secured by your first home as collateral, if you default on your bridge loan, the lender may even be able to foreclose on the home that you are trying to sell.
If you default on your loan obligations, the bridge loan lender could foreclose on the house and leave you in even more financial distress than you were prior to taking the bridge loan. Plus, the foreclosure might leave you with no home.
If you decide to take out a bridge loan, you can do so from traditional lenders, such high street banks or through a finance marketplace such as Funding Options. Keep in mind that it will be secured against an asset, such as your property. If you don't meet the repayments, your home could be at risk.
A bridge loan requires that you have 20 percent equity in your current home. Bridge loans are special in that they don't require you to start making payments on them until your current home sells. So, if it takes four months to sell your home, you wouldn't need to make payments on the bridge loan for four months.
Some may be willing to offer you a bridging loan with a term of anywhere between 18 months and two years, under the right circumstances. The longest bridging loan term you'll find is 36 months, offered by a minority of lenders.
Bridging loans are short term loans by definition and are usually offered for periods of a few weeks to 12 months. Lenders will however consider longer-term loans, depending on the exit strategy proposed by the borrower. They are not usually used for long term loans due to the high-interest rates that apply.
A bridging loan is specifically designed for the short term: the maximum period for a "regulated" bridging loan (secured against or used to purchase a residential property) is typically 12 months. However, up to 24 months is possible.
Bridge loans are a form of short-term financing that can meet immediate cash flow needs during the time between a demand for cash and its availability. While this short-term loan is commonly used in business while waiting for long-term financing, individuals typically only use them in real estate transactions.
A balloon payment is a larger-than-usual one-time payment at the end of the loan term. If you have a mortgage with a balloon payment, your payments may be lower in the years before the balloon payment comes due, but you could owe a big amount at the end of the loan.
Bridging loans can either be regulated or unregulated. In both cases lenders will require security, commonly a 1st or 2nd charge against a property owned by the borrower. It is also necessary to have a clear exit strategy and awareness of the risk that the security will be repossessed if the loan is not repaid.
Does a bridging loan affect your credit score? A bridging loan can affect your credit score. However lenders are not primarily concerned with credit scores but will run credit rating checks on their applicants. If you are unsuccessful in applying for a bridging loan, then this will show on your credit file.
Bridge Loans, Defined
Bridge loans (also known as swing loans) are typically short-term in nature, lasting on average from 6 months up to 1 year, and are often used in real estate transactions. They can be used as a means through which to finance the purchase of a new home before selling your existing residence.
Often, when a borrower has paid as agreed, but is unable to make the balloon payment, the bank will convert the loan to full amortization. This means it will become a full 25-year loan as opposed to coming due in five years.
You must refinance well in advance of the payment due date in order to ensure that you have the time to qualify and close the refinance. If you successfully acquire the refinance, you can kill two birds with one stone by paying the balloon mortgage off and getting a new loan with terms more suitable to you.
Paying the balloon payment will mean you won't have anything to repay, and you can put that money towards something else each month, or simply start saving. Even if you take out a loan to cover the cost of the balloon payment, you'll have a definitive end date in sight.
A bridge loan does not have to be a hard money loan, though, and the money usually comes from banks or lines of credit. A hard loan, on the other hand, is usually financed by private investors. A bridge loan is solely for buying property, but a hard loan can be used for a number of purposes.
A number of high street banks and private lenders offer bridging loans. Most of these are only available through loan brokers, as even high street banks do not normally offer bridge loans direct to the public.
With and equity bridge loan, a lender allows the sponsor of the project to borrow the amount of equity invested in the project. The loan can be paid at commercial operation or even later. The loan has capitalized interest that accumulates until the loan is paid.
A bridging loan, unlike a mortgage, is not directly linked to your income. The bridging loan is repaid either by the sale of the property or by raising finance through a traditional mortgage route.
With lease purchase, you have the option to defer part of your loan to the end of the agreement. This is your balloon payment. Unlike PCP, this is not an optional payment, so you'll need to pay the deferred amount to own the vehicle.
The balloon payment option offers the benefit of reduced monthly repayments, with a lump sum repayment (referred to as the balloon payment) at the end of the agreement period. The maximum balloon facility is 35% and is subject to the year, make and model of the vehicle and the finance period.
Many balloon payment lenders will extend their loan for an additional few years without any change in the loan terms. But some will ask for an increased interest rate or a partial paydown of the principal balance.
Can homebuyer bridge loans be extended when they reach maturity? There cannot be any written agreement to extend the loan beyond the 12-month maturity limit. However, if lender and borrower both agree, the loan can be modified at maturity to provide an extension of up to 12 additional months.
You could also take out a second charge commercial bridging loan against an existing residential property in your portfolio, to raise the deposit to purchase a new property. In order to pay off your bridging loan, you could then choose to refinance onto a Buy to Let Secured loan, or you could choose to Remortgage.
Credit Requirements
Since the sale of the current property will automatically pay off the bridge loan, the lender can be reasonably certain they will recoup the loan amount. A credit score of 650 and above should be easily approved by private money bridge lender.