THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE SECURING OTHER DEBTS AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY. YOUR PROPERTY MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR DEBT.

Bridging loans Northern Ireland – compare quotes from UK lenders

When a property sale is part of a chain there’s sometimes a possibility that the purchase of the house you’re buying will need to be completed before your own sale goes through. Fortunately bridging loans can be used to ‘bridge’ this temporary financial shortfall, helping to cover the cost of the new property acquisition before the funds from your sale come through.

As the name suggests, a secured bridging loan is a type of loan that is secured against your property in order to bridge that gap, and this type of loan can sometimes prove invaluable – afterall, how many people have the cash available to buy a new home before the sale of their existing property goes through?

However, there are few caveats to bear in mind:

• As with all debts that are secured against your home, if you’re unable to keep up with repayments there is the risk your property might be repossessed. That’s why it’s vital that you do your sum to ensure you’re able to comfortably afford the loan repayments.
• If you have an existing mortgage on your home then most lenders will only be willing to let you borrow against the equity you currently have in the property, ie portion of the property’s value that is debt-free and owned outright.

How long can an NI bridging loan last?

Bridging loans are intended to be short-term, with most having a loan of duration of between 1 and 24 months. One or two lenders might offer repayment terms of up to 36 months, but shorter terms are more common.

Can I take out a Northern Ireland bridging loan in order to prepare my property for sale?

Yes, although most people use bridging loans to bridge the financial gap during a property chain, these loans can also be used by refurbish a property prior to sale.

Seopa Limited (trading as CompareNI) has partnered with Cornerstone Finance to allow customers to search and compare financial products, for example, loans and mortgages. When you take out a financial product via Cornerstone Finance, your lender will pay commission directly to Cornerstone Finance, who will in turn pay part of that commission to CompareNI.