Residential bridging finance
Residential Bridging Loans Wiltshire
Short-term FCA-regulated lending for owner-occupiers across Wiltshire. We introduce regulated work to authorised partners and keep the case moving day by day across Salisbury, Chippenham, Trowbridge and the wider county.
- Decisions in hours
- Completion in days
- £100k to £25m
- Wiltshire specialists
Wiltshire · Wiltshire
Bridge to your next move.
About residential bridging
Short-term property finance across Wiltshire.
Regulated bridging is short-term lending secured against a home that you or an immediate family member already live in, or are about to move into. The Financial Conduct Authority regulates this product because consumer protection rules apply when the security is a residence. For Wiltshire homeowners caught between sale and onward purchase, residential bridging buys the time you need without the open-ended risk of losing the property you want. We work across the whole county, from the cathedral city of Salisbury through Marlborough, Devizes, Chippenham and the western towns of Trowbridge, Westbury and Bradford-on-Avon, up to Royal Wootton Bassett, Malmesbury and the Swindon commuter belt. Every regulated case routes through an FCA-authorised partner firm.
Residential bridging suits owner-occupiers across Wiltshire who need a regulated bridge against a property they live in or plan to live in. Typical borrowers include retirees in the villages around Marlborough and the Vale of Pewsey downsizing to a town house in Salisbury or Devizes, growing families moving from a smaller semi in Chippenham or Calne to a four-bed in Corsham or Bradford-on-Avon, and Swindon commuters buying onward in Royal Wootton Bassett or Highworth before their existing sale completes. The product fits clients with clean income, a clean credit profile and a credible sale plan inside a 12-month window. It does not suit speculative purchases or property held purely for investment, both of which fall under the unregulated regime and route through our separate unregulated bridging product.
A typical case
How a residential bridging case runs in Wiltshire.
A retired couple in a village outside Marlborough accept an offer on their five-bedroom barn conversion, then find the Georgian town house they want in central Salisbury on the market with two competing offers in. Their buyer is solid but stuck behind a related sale in Devizes that will not exchange for another five weeks. Without a bridge they lose the onward purchase. We package the case to two regulated lenders on the panel, both of which lend on owner-occupier terms across Wiltshire and the South West. The bridge sits at 65% loan to value against the Salisbury purchase, on a 9-month term with rolled-up interest. Indicative terms back in 24 hours, full underwriting inside 5 working days, completion 12 working days after instruction. The couple complete on the onward purchase, the Marlborough sale completes seven weeks later, and the bridge redeems out of the sale proceeds with two months of headroom on the term. Similar mechanics work for buyers in Chippenham, Trowbridge, Warminster and the surrounding villages whenever chains dependent on related sales drift beyond the original timetable.
Rates and fees
What this product costs.
Residential bridging across Wiltshire prices between 0.55% and 0.85% per month in the current market, depending on loan to value, term and exit strength. Cases that are clearly inside six months with a sold subject-to-contract onward sale price at the lower end of that band. Cases that need the full 12 months, or where the existing property is not yet marketed, price higher. The arrangement fee runs 1.5% to 2.0% of the loan, typically added to the facility rather than paid upfront. Valuation fees run case by case and are paid on instruction. Borrower and lender legal fees sit at roughly £1,500 to £3,000 per side for a clean residential security. Most regulated bridging products carry no exit fee. We quote every line item before you instruct and we never describe a case as fee-free. There are always fees on a bridge.
Loan size and term
LTV ceiling and how long you borrow for.
Maximum loan to value on residential bridging is typically 70% against open market value for an owner-occupied home in good condition. Most cases across Wiltshire settle at 65% to give the lender comfort on the exit. Terms run from 1 to 12 months for FCA-regulated bridging work. Most clients in Salisbury, Chippenham, Trowbridge and the wider county use a 6 to 9-month facility, sized to give the onward sale a realistic window without paying for time you do not need.
Exit options
How the loan redeems.
Residential bridging has two main exit routes. The first is the sale of the existing residence. The buyer in Devizes or Westbury completes, the bridge redeems out of the sale proceeds, and any equity remaining returns to the borrower. The second is a refinance onto a long-term residential mortgage where the borrower has decided to keep the property. Lenders want to see a credible sale strategy at the point of drawdown. That means agent appointed, property marketed, asking price in line with comparables in the relevant Wiltshire postcode area (SP for Salisbury, SN for Swindon and the north of the county, BA for Bradford-on-Avon and Trowbridge), and ideally an offer agreed. Where the property is not yet on the market, expect questions on timing and pricing. A clear exit is the single biggest factor in getting a regulated bridge over the line at sensible pricing.
What makes a deal work
The clean cases.
Cases run cleanly when the borrower has clean income, a clean credit file, a property that values reliably, and a sale plan that holds water. A retired couple with pension income, no consumer debt, a converted farmhouse outside Marlborough at a sensible asking price, and a buyer already through their mortgage offer is the textbook clean case. The bridge underwrites in days. Lenders also reward properties in mainstream Wiltshire postcodes, freehold houses rather than leasehold flats with short leases, and conventional construction. Where the onward purchase is also straightforward, the whole chain breaks easily inside a 6 to 9-month window. We work with **MT Finance** and **Hope Capital** on the bulk of regulated cases routed through our authorised partner firm.
What doesn't
Where cases break.
Cases break where the sale property is overpriced for its Wiltshire micro-market, where the borrower has unresolved credit issues, where the security has non-standard construction (cob, thatch, timber-frame without certification, single-skin garden flats), or where the onward use is partly commercial. Cases also stall where the borrower expects the bridge to fund a purchase larger than the realistic equity left after redemption. We will not progress a case where the maths do not work on the exit, because the consumer harm in a forced sale at the back end is real and not theoretical.
Our process
From first call to drawdown.
Step one, a triage call with one of our brokers. We need the purchase, the sale, the residual equity and the credit profile. Step two, we package the case and put it to two or three regulated lenders depending on the specifics, and route the regulated activity to an FCA-authorised partner firm. Step three, indicative terms back inside 24 hours. Step four, instruct valuation and solicitors in parallel. Step five, full credit underwriting at the lender, typically 3 to 5 working days. Step six, drawdown, with funds released to the borrower's solicitor in line with the onward purchase completion. From triage to completion is normally 10 to 14 working days. Regulated bridging on owner-occupied residential property is FCA-regulated; unregulated bridging on commercial and investment property is not. We are not directly authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority; we work with FCA-authorised partners for regulated lending.
Talk to us
Tell us about the deal.
A quick triage call, then indicative lender terms inside 24 hours. We work Wiltshire and across Wiltshire.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions on residential bridging
Is regulated bridging the same as a residential mortgage?
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No. A residential mortgage is long-term, typically 15 to 30 years, with monthly capital and interest payments tied to your income. Regulated bridging is short-term, 1 to 12 months, secured against the same kind of property but priced on a monthly rate and exited in a single redemption when the property sells or refinances. Both fall under FCA regulation when the security is owner-occupied; they are different products with different underwriting and different cost profiles.
Can I take residential bridging on a buy-to-let in Wiltshire?
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Not as residential bridging. The regulated regime applies only where the security is occupied by the borrower or an immediate family member. A buy-to-let in Trowbridge, Chippenham or Swindon held purely for rental income sits under the unregulated regime. Unregulated rates are often only marginally higher and the process is faster because the FCA consumer rules do not attach. Most landlord clients across Wiltshire use our unregulated bridging product instead.
How quickly can a regulated bridge complete across Wiltshire?
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Standard regulated completion is 10 to 14 working days from instruction across Salisbury, Devizes, Marlborough, Chippenham and the wider county. Faster is possible where the title is clean, the valuation comes back inside a week, and the solicitors on both sides respond promptly. We have completed regulated cases in 7 working days where every party moved at pace, but we do not promise speed at the cost of due diligence on a consumer case.
Next step
Talk to a Wiltshire bridging specialist about residential bridging.
Indicative terms in 24 hours. We work residential bridging cases across Wiltshire and the wider Wiltshire market on a same-day enquiry response.