Residential bridging loans · England & Wales
Residential bridging loans, built around your move
Fast, flexible short-term finance secured against residential property from £75k to £10m, up to 75% loan to value. For breaking a chain, buying at auction, downsizing, or acquiring a buy-to-let before you refinance. An honest answer the same day, direct from the decision-makers.
The basics
What is a residential bridging loan?
A residential bridging loan is a short-term loan secured against a house or flat – either the home you own, a property you are buying, or an investment property such as a buy-to-let. It exists to bridge a gap in time: between buying and selling, between an offer and a mortgage, or between a property’s current state and the value it will reach once work is done. Because the loan is secured by a legal charge over the property, it can be arranged in days rather than the weeks or months a term mortgage takes.
Bridging is short-term by design. Terms typically run from a few months up to 24 months, and the loan is repaid in full at the end from a defined source – your exit. That makes it a tool for situations with a clear beginning and end, not a replacement for a long-term mortgage. At Proxima Capital we lend from £75k to £10m against residential security across England and Wales, assessed on the merits of each case rather than a tick-box.
Uses
What can a residential bridging loan be used for?
Almost any situation where property-backed funding is needed quickly and repaid from a clear source. The most common residential cases we fund:
Beyond a house move, investors use residential bridging to raise capital against existing equity, to fund a refurbishment that lifts a property to a mortgageable standard or just to add value, and to secure buy-to-let, HMO and MUFB acquisitions before refinancing onto a term product. If you are buying under the hammer, our auction finance is built for the 28-day clock.
Regulation
Regulated or unregulated: which applies to you?
Not every loan against a residential property is treated the same way. The distinction is set by how the property is used, not by who is lending – and it decides whether the loan falls under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consumer rules.
Where the security is a property you or an immediate family member live in, or intend to live in, the loan is a regulated bridging loan and sits under FCA regulation; the owner-occupier route. Where the security is an investment property, such as a buy-to-let, an HMO or a property you are refurbishing to sell, the loan is an unregulated bridging loan and sits outside FCA consumer regulation. Many residential deals could go either way depending on your intention, so it pays to be clear about the plan up front and, if you are unsure, we will help you work out which applies before anything is agreed.
Borrowing
How much can you borrow against residential property?
The amount is driven by the property’s value and your loan to value (LTV). Proxima lends up to 75% LTV against residential security, from £75k to £10m – so on a straightforward case you would typically need at least 25% equity, either as cash into a purchase or as existing equity in a property you already own. A RICS valuation, or a desktop or AVM on the right cases, sets the lending figure.
Two terms are worth knowing. The gross loan is the full facility, including interest and fees. The net loan is what reaches you on day one. Interest is charged monthly – with Proxima rates from 0.85% per month – and you can take it retained, rolled up or serviced. On top of interest, budget for an arrangement fee, usually 2% of the loan, plus valuation and legal costs. Our bridging loan calculator shows the gross and net figures, and the bridging loan rates page sets out the full cost.
Investment cases
Buy-to-let, HMO and portfolio acquisitions
A large share of residential bridging is for landlords and investors buying to hold. Bridging lets you move quickly on a buy-to-let, an HMO or a multi-unit block – including properties a buy-to-let mortgage lender would refuse today because they are unlettable, below value, or bought at auction – then refinance onto a term product once the property is let and stacking. This buy-back-and-refinance route is how many portfolios are built.
Because these are investment properties, the loans are almost always unregulated, and we assess them on the asset, the business plan and the refinance exit rather than personal income alone. Where light refurbishment is needed to bring an HMO up to standard before a buy-to-let remortgage, the bridge can fund the works too. Speak to us – or your broker – about structuring the drawdown and the redemption around your refinance date.
Bridging with Proxima
A lender that can actually complete
Proxima Capital was founded by highly experienced operators who have overseen over £500m of property finance loans. If you choose to deal with Proxima, you deal directly with the decision-makers. You get an honest view the same day, a decision in principle within 24 hours, and best-in-class solicitors with market-leading title indemnity insurance to keep completion on a residential deal fast and increase certainty.
The thing that matters
Why your exit strategy decides the deal
A residential bridging loan is only as good as the plan to repay it. On a home move your exit is usually the sale of the property you are leaving; on an investment case it is typically a refinance onto a buy-to-let or term mortgage, or the sale once refurbishment is complete. A credible, evidenced exit is what turns a fast decision into a clean completion – and what protects you from a costly default at the end of the term.
We structure every case around the exit first, and if it doesn’t stack up we will tell you early rather than late. Your property may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a loan secured against it, so a realistic exit is not a formality – it is the whole point.
Explore
Bridging finance, by case
Unregulated bridging
Buy-to-let, HMO and investment property held for the exit.
FAQs
Residential bridging questions, answered
Can you get a bridging loan against your own home?
Yes. You can raise a bridging loan against a home you own and live in – for example to break a chain or downsize – provided there is enough equity and a credible exit, usually the sale of that property or another. Because it is secured on a home you occupy, this is likely a regulated bridging loan and so falls under FCA rules. Your property may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a loan secured against it.
Is a residential bridging loan regulated?
It depends on how the property is used. If the security is a home you or an immediate family member live in or intend to, the loan is regulated by the FCA. If the security is an investment property – a buy-to-let, an HMO or a property held for resale – the loan is unregulated. The property’s use sets the position, not the lender.
What are the downsides of a residential bridging loan?
Interest is charged monthly and adds up quickly, fees and valuation costs apply, and the loan is secured against property – so your property may be at risk if the exit fails and you cannot repay. The main risk is a weak or delayed exit, which is why we stress-test how you will repay before we lend. It is more expensive than a term mortgage, so it is the wrong tool for long-term borrowing.
Are residential bridging loans a good idea?
For the right purpose, yes. Bridging suits short-term, time-critical situations with a clear exit; a chain break, an auction purchase, a refurbishment before sale or let. Used with a credible exit and a sensible term it does a job a mortgage cannot. Used to paper over a long-term shortfall, it is expensive and risky. The honest answer depends on your plan, and we will give you ours the same day.
How fast can a residential bridge complete?
We issue a decision in principle within 24 hours and structure cases to complete in days where the valuation and legals allow. See fast bridging loans for how we compress the timeline.
Have a deal in mind?
Tell us about it and you’ll get an honest, commercial view the same day direct from decision makers.
