Bridging Loan Case Studies Surrey

An investor client bought a tired three-bed end-terrace at a regional south-east auction with a 28-day completion deadline. The legal pack flagged a missing planning history note on a single-storey rear kitchen extension. Standard mortgage lenders would not touch it until the planning record was resolved.

The auction pack landed on our desk at 8am the morning after the hammer fell. Indicative terms came back from MT Finance inside 24 hours. Valuation was instructed the same day; legal work ran in parallel using title insurance to cover the planning history note. Completion landed at 13 working days, with 15 days of the 28-day clock still on it.

A landlord picked up a three-bed semi at a regional auction operating a 14-day extended exchange rather than the more common 28-day completion. The property needed cosmetic refurb, a new kitchen and a re-roof of a single-storey rear addition. Standard mortgage routes were too slow.

We pitched the case to two lenders inside 24 hours and the borrower signed Hope Capital's terms. Valuation was instructed within four working hours of acceptance. Legal work ran on title insurance from day three. Funds drew down on day twelve, two days inside the auction house's extended-exchange window.

A first-time BTL investor bought a one-bed flat in a 1980s purpose-built block close to Staines-upon-Thames station. The legal pack showed 76 years unexpired on the lease, just inside most lenders' minimum-lease-at-redemption threshold for a 6-month bridge.

We placed the case with LendInvest, who were comfortable with the lease length given a clean management pack from the freeholder. Indicative terms came back at 0.95% per month and 70% LTV. The valuation was straightforward. Completion landed at day 19 of the 28-day auction clock.

An experienced landlord bought a tired three-bed Victorian terrace in GU1 within walking distance of Guildford station. The property had no working kitchen, original 1950s electrics, evidence of rising damp on the front elevation and a single-storey rear addition needing structural attention. No standard mortgage lender would touch it as-is.

We packaged the case to Roma Finance at 70% LTV against the open-market value at purchase, with the works budget released in two stage payments after monitoring-surveyor sign-off. The refurbishment ran 14 weeks at a £58,000 budget covering damp work, full rewire, a new kitchen, a new bathroom and external decoration.

A small developer bought a three-bed Grade II listed stone cottage on a side road off the Dorking high street. The property needed sympathetic restoration: lime-mortar repointing, traditional sash-window repair, a breathable-finish refurbishment internally, replacement of unsympathetic 1980s additions to the rear, and a new kitchen and bathroom in keeping with the period.

United Trust Bank funded the case at 65% LTV with a 12-month term, drawdown released in three stages against monitoring-surveyor sign-off and listed-building consent verification at each stage. Listed-building consent was granted at month 1; works ran 9 months from the start of restoration to practical completion.

A couple in their early 60s wanted to complete on a smaller four-bed detached in Cobham before their larger five-bed family home in Esher finished going through marketing. The Cobham vendor required exchange within 5 weeks. The Esher property had been on the market three weeks with strong viewing interest but no offer accepted.

Because the security was their existing owner-occupied home, the bridge was regulated. We introduced them to one of our FCA-authorised partners who carried out the regulated activity. Hope Capital quoted at 0.65% per month against the Esher property as first charge, with the loan amount sized to cover the Cobham purchase price plus stamp duty plus interest reserve.

An owner-occupier couple sold their Reigate four-bed semi to a buyer whose own buyer pulled out three weeks before exchange. The onward purchase in Godalming was already under offer with the vendor requesting exchange in 4 weeks. The couple stood to lose the Godalming purchase if they could not exchange independently of the broken chain.

The case was regulated as the security was the existing owner-occupied home. We introduced the case to our FCA-authorised partner. Together quoted at 0.70% per month, 60% LTV against the Reigate property, with the loan sized to cover Godalming purchase, stamp duty and interest reserve. The packaging team handled the underlying file.

A regional developer reached practical completion on a twelve-unit apartment scheme within walking distance of Woking station. The development facility ran at expensive dev rates and was 30 days from expiry. Four of the twelve units had buyers under offer subject to contract but had not exchanged. The other eight were on the market with mixed early interest.

We refinanced the developer off the dev facility onto a development-exit bridge at materially lower monthly cost. Octopus Real Estate priced the case at 65% LTV against the gross development value, term 12 months, with the lender accepting individual unit sales as the redemption mechanism. The packaging covered the build cost reconciliation, the marketing strategy, and individual unit valuations against comparable evidence in GU22.

A landlord owned a Farnham high-street building: ground-floor retail unit currently let to an independent home-and-garden retailer, with two one-bed flats above on ASTs. The commercial tenant's lease was 5 months from expiry. The landlord wanted breathing room to re-gear the lease at a higher rent, refurbish the common entrance and lift the residential rents at lease renewal before refinancing onto a long-term term loan at a much better valuation.

We arranged a 12-month bridge with Octane Capital at 65% LTV against the building's mixed-use open-market value. The lender took comfort from the residential income covering interest on a serviced basis, with the commercial vacancy priced in to the underwriting. We packaged the lease re-gear plan and the refurbishment programme as part of the exit story.

An established Surrey landlord wanted to deploy capital on a refurbishment-to-BTL purchase in GU1 Guildford that needed a 30% deposit immediately, plus a works budget. He held substantial equity in his Weybridge family home but was 14 months into a 5-year fixed-rate first-charge mortgage with steep early-repayment penalties. A full remortgage was uneconomic until the fixed period ended.

We arranged a 9-month second-charge bridge with Together at 1.05% per month, sitting behind the existing first-charge mortgage. Combined first-and-second-charge LTV came in at 62% of the Weybridge property's open-market valuation. Funds released to the borrower's solicitor for the Guildford purchase. The lender was comfortable because the first-charge mortgage was current, the family home was clean security, and the exit was a planned remortgage at the end of the fixed period.