Six Ways a Bridging Loan Can be Better Than a Mortgage

Most homeowners looking to relocate barely think twice about completing a mortgage application. They simply apply for and (perhaps) receive a mortgage instinctively, locking themselves into the same binding long-term agreements as everyone else.

But what if there was a better way for existing homeowners to move to new homes without going down the usually complex and costly channels? Are there flexible, accessible, and affordable alternatives to conventional mortgage loans that are broadly available to mainstream borrowers?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes, and it takes the form of bridging finance.

To put the whole thing into some kind of perspective, here are just six of the countless ways a bridging loan can be better than a mortgage:

• Faster applications: With a mortgage application, it is not uncommon to wait up to 8 or even 12 weeks to gain access to the money you need. With bridging finance, the whole process can be wrapped up in just a few working days, never more than a couple of weeks. When time is a factor (which has a tendency to apply to all property purchases these days), bridging finance can be so much faster to arrange than a conventional mortgage.
• Property purchases for cash: With bridging finance, you essentially turn yourself into a cash buyer. By doing so, you gain access to all the benefits usually reserved for those who buy homes for cash. You can bid on properties at auction, you can place offers on off-market properties of all kinds, and you can qualify for preferential rates by buying your next home for a single (and fast) lump-sum cash payment.
• Easy to obtain: Comparatively speaking, obtaining a bridging loan can be surprisingly straightforward. Eligibility criteria for bridging loans tend to be much more relaxed than with a conventional mortgage. Your credit history and income level will not necessarily stand in your way, just as long as you provide your lender with proof of a viable exit strategy (how you intend to repay your loan). It is even possible to qualify for bridging finance with no formal proof of income and/or a history of bankruptcy.
• Can be used to purchase any property: Major banks place heavy restrictions on the kinds of properties their mortgages can be used to purchase. Elsewhere, bridging loan specialists place no such restrictions whatsoever on their products. If you qualify for a bridging loan, you can use the funds to purchase any type of property you like. This includes properties that would normally be considered ‘not mortgageable’, making it much easier to pick up homes in questionable conditions to then renovate to a higher standard.
• Rock-bottom interest rates: Bridging finance is designed to be repaid as promptly as possible and can be hugely affordable as a short-term solution. Interest is applied monthly at a rate as low as 0.5%, and all other borrowing costs are kept to the bare minimum. Most bridging finance specialists impose no fees or penalties for early repayment, meaning significant sums of money can be saved by repaying the full balance as quickly as possible. Unlike a mortgage, where early repayment can be extremely expensive, assuming it is even an option at all,
• No restrictions on spending: A traditional mortgage comes with the caveat of being issued exclusively for the purchase of a property. With bridging finance, the money can be used for absolutely any legal purpose whatsoever. You could use a chunk of the money to purchase a home or business property and spend the rest in any way you like. Lenders have little to no interest in how their money is to be used; they simply need to know that they will get it back in full and on time.