Complex Bridging Loan for Spanish Villa in Just 6 Working Days

Residential bridging loans generally have a 12-month term. It’s typically a hard deadline that can’t be moved or extended.

But what happens if you’re still waiting for your exit strategy to complete at the end of your 12 months?

The Scenario

We had originally helped this client raise a small bridging loan against their £2.5m UK property to fund a 10% deposit for a new home in Spain.

They would complete the purchase of the Spanish property and repay the £170k bridging loan when their current home sold – simple enough.

However, after a slow start to an even slower sale of their home, their buyer pulled out of the purchase and the deal collapsed.

The clients returned to us for help due to our excellent service for their initial bridging loan, and we got to work in finding a solution. However, after one lender withdrew their commitment after promising talks for a re-bridge, we were left with just 6 working days for our client to clear the full balance on the Spanish property.

The Solution

With a high-pressure case like this on an extremely tight deadline, you need a seasoned expert with the right connections to get the deal over the line. Particularly as it was a re-bridge (a bridge to repay an existing bridging loan), and the client had some minor credit issues.

We approached a lender with whom we have a strong relationship – and despite the deadline, we were confident that if we clearly explained the situation, provided the necessary evidence, and oversaw the logistics of the application, this lender could provide the finance in time.

We needed to:

• Arrange a fast-tracked, full valuation of the UK property.
• Arrange search indemnity insurance for the property as a way to avoid the time-cost of carrying out searches.
• And ultimately ensure our client had funds to clear the Spanish property in just 6 working days.

On top of this, thanks to a down-valuation on the property (coming in at £2.3m, which was £200k lower than expected), it pushed the loan to value to over 70% – putting even more pressure on the deal.

It’s a case that highlights our exceptional service, with our client returning to us thanks to our previous work, and shows the value of using a bridging broker with connections like us – a deal that would simply not be possible going it alone.

“If I had known the requirement was a 6-day regulated re-bridge with a full valuation, some minor credit issues, and at 70% LTV - I wouldn't have been very confident.

We didn’t know this until we were let down by another provider and there was a down valuation on the property. Despite this, we reached out to Greenfield and with the commitment from the client, all parties were on the same page.

The lender, client and solicitors all pushed in the same direction to get the mutually desired outcome.” 

Sam O’Neill, Head of Bridging at Clifton Private Finance

"Sam approached us with the case and provided a full overview of the scenario, which meant I could fully understand the deal and provide a committed initial decision with terms.

Within a matter of hours, Sam had submitted the full application. It was approved by us without delay, and meant valuation/legals could be instructed the same day.

We gained commitment from the valuer to inspect the property quickly and expedite the report, which meant the full valuation report was back within a matter of days, while both sets of solicitors (ours and the clients) understood the need for a fast completion. We worked together closely to swiftly reach a point where legal work was fully completed, and we could transfer funds to progress to completion.

For me, this is truly what bridging is all about - a client having a need for funds in a short amount of time, and us delivering within that time frame.”

Andrew Franklin, Underwriter at Greenfield Mortgages