Small Bridging Loans Increasingly Popular Choice

Small Bridging Loans Increasingly Popular Choice

UK Property Finance has again surpassed forecasted targets in October and November 2014, mainly due to the number of small bridging loan completions during the months.

The firm uses the term “small” to describe loans between £10,000 and £50,000. This size of bridging finance is less popular with other bridge lenders and brokers, who tend to shy away in favour of larger loans. In fact, the lowest net-value bridging loan is usually £40,000, and many lenders require a much higher minimum net loan.

The average loan size of the small bridging loans arranged by UK Property Finance for the stated period was just under £18,000, and the average completion time was 8 working days from initial discussions to funding. The company does all the legal work on these types of loans internally, so there is a two-fold saving: no additional solicitor costs for the client, and just as importantly, this has vastly improved the completion time way beyond that which most other companies offering the same product could ever achieve. On several of the completed loans, we even managed to add a second charge to the property without needing to wait for permission from the first charge lender to be able to do so. This once again was a valuable time-saving tool for all of our clients.

Small bridging loans are available as a first charge on unregulated property or land, such as buy-to-let houses, commercial units, or land, with or without planning permission. They are also available as second charges on the same types of security and additionally on personal residential properties where the requirement for the money is mainly for business purposes or where each applicant is classified as having a high net worth and earning over £150,000 per annum.

Applications are acceptable whether the client has credit issues or not, and also if the client has or does not have income proof. The underwriting is quick, efficient, and kept to an absolute minimum so that all cases are funded within the shortest possible time frame and with the least possible fuss. Small bridging loans are available in England, Scotland, and Wales. As of yet, the only coverage we have in Northern Ireland is for larger loans starting at £50,000, but watch this space.