Immediate in-principle decision on refurbishment bridging loans available

Draw down funds within 5-14 days. Finance suitable for homemovers, landlords, property investments, and property developers.

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Refurbishment bridging loans

Popular with investors, landlords, and developers, you can apply for a refurbishment bridging loans to buy and renovate residential, mixed-use, or commercial property which, in its current state, is often unmortgageable and/or is not up to the standards expected by homebuyers, renters, or business tenants.

You can borrow up to 75% of the value of the property plus the costs of renovation with a refurbishment bridging loan. If the work you need to do is substantial, it may be better for you to apply for development finance – speak with a Redrock lending specialist for guidance on the most suitable type of funding for your project.

If you require funding to renovate or refurbish the property you live in, you may apply for a refurbishment loan on a regulated basis.

For more information on refurbishment bridging loans, please call us on 020 3780 7610 or click here for our contact form.

Refurbishment finance UK – the process

Apply

You can get in touch with us by phone or by using the contact form on our website. Let us know how much you need and the reason.

Decision

We’ll be able to tell you almost straight away whether we can help. If we can, you should have a lender’s in-principle decision within 3 hours.

Valuations & legal

Within 3-5 days, the property you’re offering as security will be valued by a surveyor. You will also need to consult with your solicitor.

Completion

Within 5-14 days of your original request, money will be available to draw down on receipt of an acceptable valuation & your paperwork.

 
 

Who uses refurbishment finance?

LANDLORDS, INVESTORS, DEVELOPERS

where your target acquisition requires refurbishment or renovation and it is not mortgageable in its current state
price of target property too low for a mortgage unless value added to it by refurbishment
seeking funding for residential, mixed-use, or commercial purchase-plus-refurbishment projects

HOMEOWNERS

wanting short-term funding for refurbishment project

LOANS OFFERED FOR:

price of the property as it is now or
price of the property as it is now plus refurbishment costs.

Refurbishment bridging loan finance criteria

 

Loan to value (LTV): 75%
100% funding is available providing you have additional security with sufficient equity
Exit strategy: sale or refinance (we can assist you with this)
Loan term: 3 to 24 months
Loan amount: £26,000+
Interest options: serviced, retained, rolled-up
Interest rates from: 0.55% per month
Decision: 24 hours
Completion: 5-14 days
Loans available in UK and Europe
Adverse credit considered
Available on first and second charges

Why use property refurbishment finance?

LIGHT REFURBISHMENT LOANS

Installation of new windows
Installation of a new kitchen
Installation of a new bathroom
Electrical rewiring
Improvement to the outside spaces
Redecoration

HEAVY REFURBISHMENT LOANS

Structural changes to a property
Projects requiring planning permission to be obtained
Building Regs projects

REALLY BIG PROJECT?

Conversion of a house into flats or an HMO
Conversion of commercial property to residential use
Full internal reworking of a property
Ask us about development finance instead

What is bridge financing?

Borrowers use bridge financing, often called bridging loans, to provide the funding they need to take them from one stage of a property development to the next.

For example, if you see business premises you wish to trade from but, because of its condition, you’re unable to find a commercial mortgage, you may use bridge financing to purchase and refurbish the property so that, when completed, it’s ready for you and your colleagues to start working from.

Once the renovation work had been completed to the quality required and you have added value to the building, you then apply for a commercial mortgage. You use the funds from that commercial mortgage to repay the bridging loan in full.

With a refurbishment bridging loan which includes the funding required to purchase a property, money is drawn down in two tranches. The first tranche is used to pay for the property and the second tranche is paid when the refurbishment work has been completed and it has been signed off by a surveyor carrying out a re-inspection of the property.

“Refurbishment” – meaning in finance

Redrock arranges two types of residential, mixed-use, or commercial refurbishment finance for borrowers:

  • light refurbishment finance
  • heavy refurbishment finance

 

Light refurbishment bridging loan

Lenders understand light refurbishment to mean the type of work you carry out to improve a property which does not involve a change to the layout of the building, to its use, or to its overall nature.

You should apply for light refurbishment finance for one or more of the following types of jobs:

  • installation of new windows,
  • installation of a new kitchen,
  • installation of a new bathroom,
  • electrical rewiring,
  • improvement to the outside spaces, and
  • substantial redecoration.

 

Heavy refurbishment bridging loan

For refurbishment projects…

  • where you will carry out significant structural change to the building,
  • where planning permission will be needed, or
  • where the work you carry out is heavily reliant on a number of different Building Regulations being complied with

 

…please ask us about development finance.

What about bigger projects?

For bigger projects including but not limited to…

  • a full internal reworking of the property you’ve purchased
  • the conversion of a house into flats or into a House of Multiple Occupation, or
  • the conversion of commercial premises into homes or flats

 

…please ask us about development finance.

Is refurbishment mortgage finance available?

Refurbishment mortgage finance is available from selected lenders for the purchase of buying or renting out residential property.

However, this type of funding is often difficult to access because the property you wish to purchase and refurbish is not in a mortgageable condition and/or the value of it will be below a mortgage provider’s minimum loan amount.

You may find it significantly easier to purchase the property and pay for its refurbishment with a refurbishment bridging loan instead.

What is a second charge refurbishment bridging loan?

Second charge refurbishment finance is available to improve residential property you don’t intend to live or commercial property.

You can secure your second charge refurbishment finance facility against the equity in the property you wish to renovate or on another property you own as long as it has sufficient equity within it.

House refurbishment finance if you intend to live in the property

You can apply for residential refurbishment finance, sometimes referred to as home refurbishment finance, on the property you live in.

Your lender will take a second charge on your property if there is an outstanding balance on any mortgage secured against it. If you have cleared the mortgage on your primary residential property, the lender will take first charge on it.

Bridging loans using primary residential property as security are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This is so that borrowers get similar levels of protection that they already enjoy with standard mortgages.

Redrock Commercial Finance is an FCA-regulated bridging loan brokers and we have a number of lenders on our panel which provide our borrowers with regulated loans. Please contact us to find out more.

Paying off a refurbishment bridging loan

Unlike longer-term forms of secured finance, you make no monthly repayments on a refurbishment bridging loan. Instead, you repay the entire balance in its entirety on or before an agreed date. The maximum duration for repayment of a refurbishment bridging loan is 24 months (or 12 months for regulated products).

When applying for a refurbishment bridging loan, you’ll have to let your lender know at the start of the loan how long you need to borrow the money for and the method you’ll use to repay it. The method you choose is often referred to as the “exit strategy”.

For most refurbishment loans where you don’t intend to occupy the building yourself as a homeowner or to run your business from, lenders will expect repayment using one of the following exit strategies:

  • the sale of the property to a third party
  • arranging a residential buy-to-let mortgage or an HMO mortgage
  • arranging a commercial buy-to-let mortgage

 

If you’re planning to use the property as your primary residential property or for your business to trade from, you would normally use the funds from arranging either of the following exit strategies to repay the bridging loan:

  • a standard residential occupier mortgage
  • a standard commercial occupier mortgage

 

If you take out a second charge refurbishment bridging loan on the property you live in, lenders normally expect one of the following exit strategies:

  • a new mortgage to replace your current mortgage and the repay the bridging loan
  • a secured loan to repay the bridging loan

 

If you plan to repay your refurbishment bridging loan using a different exit strategy, please call us and we’ll be able to let you know very quickly if there are any lenders on our panel likely to view your proposed method of repayment favourably.

Refurbishment bridging loan rates and costs

The interest rate charged on your refurbishment bridging loan depends on a number of factors including:

  • the value of the property you offer as security,
  • the amount of money you wish to take out,
  • the complexity of the schedule of refurbishment and the length of time you expect the project to take, and
  • your level of experience in property development/investment or as a landlord.

 

For a personalised indication of the monthly and overall interest charges you may incur if you successfully apply for a refurbishment bridging loan, please click for our refurbishment bridging loan calculator.

Contact us for a quote on refurbishment finance

To speak with a lending advisor for more information on refurbishment finance, please call us on 020 3780 7610 or click here for our contact form.