Bridging loans... for and against
Bridging loans... for and against
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Wacky Racer

Original Poster:

40,783 posts

271 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
Looking for some advice.

A close friend and his wife, (Who are both retired) have just bought a very nice bungalow with lovely gardens up in Scotland for around £300,000 (Didn't need a mortgage)

They have a nice cottage in Cheshire worth around £370-£400k which is also owned outright.

There was a sale going through on their Cheshire home, but as often happens it fell through at the very last minute (A chain collapsed) and they were banking on this money to help fund their retirement.

The Cheshire house is empty and unfurnished at the moment, it is up for sale atm, and they have had five viewers in a month.

I did advise him not to buy the Scottish home, before the sale of theirs was in the bag, but he was convinced it was going to go through.

They do have a decent amount of savings, but they are not going to last forever.

Worst case scenario would a bridging loan be the answer, the house in Cheshire is very nice, but it may take a few months to sell.

Or are there any other options.?

Cheers.


interstellar

4,820 posts

170 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
We’re in the same boat. Dream house came up and we bought it before ours is sold and thought - sod it.

We should exchange in a week on our old one but also know it’s possible it might not.

We took a mortgage on the new house to bridge as equity is tied up in old house which will have us mortgage free.

We went for an hsbc mortgage tracker with no redemption penalty. We haven’t made a payment yet and may pay it off next month in full with no penalty once the old house is sold.

Could they just get put a mortgage on theirs in Scotland like we have temporarily?

They can’t mortgage the Cheshire one as it t wil come up as being for sale.

Edited by interstellar on Wednesday 30th August 13:03

Wilmslowboy

4,659 posts

230 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
Bridging loans are very expensive at the moment.

Friend just took one out for a development he is planning on doing - APR (after fees and broker cut etc) ends up close to 20% - One off fees making up a chunk of this.

Might be better discounting the Cheshire cottage for a quick sale.

Edited to add - If they can get a regular mortgage (as the poster above) that may be the best option, although being both retired will not make this easy.

Edited by Wilmslowboy on Wednesday 30th August 12:42

dxg

10,215 posts

284 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
Wacky Racer said:
Looking for some advice.

A close friend and his wife, (Who are both retired) have just bought a very nice bungalow with lovely gardens up in Scotland for around £300,000 (Didn't need a mortgage)

They have a nice cottage in Cheshire worth around £370-£400k which is also owned outright.

There was a sale going through on their Cheshire home, but as often happens it fell through at the very last minute (A chain collapsed) and they were banking on this money to help fund their retirement.

The Cheshire house is empty and unfurnished at the moment, it is up for sale atm, and they have had five viewers in a month.

I did advise him not to buy the Scottish home, before the sale of theirs was in the bag, but he was convinced it was going to go through.

They do have a decent amount of savings, but they are not going to last forever.

Worst case scenario would a bridging loan be the answer, the house in Cheshire is very nice, but it may take a few months to sell.

Or are there any other options.?

Cheers.
Have they looked into the whole stamp duty situation up there? And council tax. Double for the latter and much higher for the former if this new home is classified as a second home.

How do hey stop this second home becoming classified as a second home for these purposes?

If the Scottish property is bought before the English one is sold, how does the Scottish one avoid becoming subject to all these additional costs? By moving into it immediately, leaving the English home empty while it is sold, perhaps?

tighnamara

2,623 posts

177 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
dxg said:
Wacky Racer said:
Looking for some advice.

A close friend and his wife, (Who are both retired) have just bought a very nice bungalow with lovely gardens up in Scotland for around £300,000 (Didn't need a mortgage)

They have a nice cottage in Cheshire worth around £370-£400k which is also owned outright.

There was a sale going through on their Cheshire home, but as often happens it fell through at the very last minute (A chain collapsed) and they were banking on this money to help fund their retirement.

The Cheshire house is empty and unfurnished at the moment, it is up for sale atm, and they have had five viewers in a month.

I did advise him not to buy the Scottish home, before the sale of theirs was in the bag, but he was convinced it was going to go through.

They do have a decent amount of savings, but they are not going to last forever.

Worst case scenario would a bridging loan be the answer, the house in Cheshire is very nice, but it may take a few months to sell.

Or are there any other options.?

Cheers.
Have they looked into the whole stamp duty situation up there? And council tax. Double for the latter and much higher for the former if this new home is classified as a second home.

How do hey stop this second home becoming classified as a second home for these purposes?

If the Scottish property is bought before the English one is sold, how does the Scottish one avoid becoming subject to all these additional costs? By moving into it immediately, leaving the English home empty while it is sold, perhaps?
You pay the higher stamp duty (having second property) , presuming the OP has already / or near to paying this, and claim back after selling one of the properties
There is a 18 month period given if you sell one of the properties in that time you can claim back the higher duty paid.

https://revenue.scot/taxes/land-buildings-transact...


Sarnie

8,327 posts

233 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
Wacky Racer said:
Looking for some advice.

A close friend and his wife, (Who are both retired) have just bought a very nice bungalow with lovely gardens up in Scotland for around £300,000 (Didn't need a mortgage)

They have a nice cottage in Cheshire worth around £370-£400k which is also owned outright.

There was a sale going through on their Cheshire home, but as often happens it fell through at the very last minute (A chain collapsed) and they were banking on this money to help fund their retirement.

The Cheshire house is empty and unfurnished at the moment, it is up for sale atm, and they have had five viewers in a month.

I did advise him not to buy the Scottish home, before the sale of theirs was in the bag, but he was convinced it was going to go through.

They do have a decent amount of savings, but they are not going to last forever.

Worst case scenario would a bridging loan be the answer, the house in Cheshire is very nice, but it may take a few months to sell.

Or are there any other options.?

Cheers.
Rent it out, take a BTL mortgage against it, with no or low ERC's, to release funds in the meantime, put it back up for sale next summer or later if renting suits.......

Wacky Racer

Original Poster:

40,783 posts

271 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
Apparently they have paid 16k upfront to the Scottish authorities, which they will get back in full or lose if their old house doesn't sell in 18 months.

(I think I've got that right)

Wacky Racer

Original Poster:

40,783 posts

271 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
For the avoidance of doubt they are living in their Scottish bungalow and have settled in and loving it. The locals have made them very welcome.

dingg

4,482 posts

243 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
Against, draw down savings, market house with vacant possession, don't put tenants in, dont get btl mortgage, get it sold asap...
Just tighten belts until its sold (if needed)

I hate debts....

LooneyTunes

9,082 posts

182 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
They should probably work backwards... what's their cash burn rate, and what does that equate to in terms of how long their savings will last. That'll help them decide how urgent it really is to get access to more cash.

That said, if they want more liquid cash, a BL seems like a very expensive way to feel better about having more liquidity than they need.

Probably better to progressively discount as they get closer to actually needing cash and/or making it clear to the agents that there is a discount available for a bona fide cash buyer who isn't going to mess them around?

Either option has a cost, either in interest paid or discount given, but the thing with a discount is that you know where the final bill will end up once you've agreed the transaction. If they take the BL they may well find that in the current market it takes time and they still need to discount to get it sold. It's also easy to see someone not wanting to drop the price, even if it's necessary, because of how much the BL has cost them and ending up even worse off as a result.

gmasterfunk

482 posts

172 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
If they've bought the house, own the other house outright and have savings what do they need the Bridging loan for?

dudleybloke

20,553 posts

210 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
Tighten their belts and maybe look at getting a few hours work here and there until the house sells.

Wacky Racer

Original Poster:

40,783 posts

271 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
gmasterfunk said:
If they've bought the house, own the other house outright and have savings what do they need the Bridging loan for?
They need to have a plan in place if their savings dwindle too much.

They will be fine once the cottage is sold.

dxg

10,215 posts

284 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
tighnamara said:
You pay the higher stamp duty (having second property) , presuming the OP has already / or near to paying this, and claim back after selling one of the properties
There is a 18 month period given if you sell one of the properties in that time you can claim back the higher duty paid.

https://revenue.scot/taxes/land-buildings-transact...
Excellent. Cheers!

omniflow

3,644 posts

175 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
They might be able to get a RIO on the new place (Retirement Interest Only Mortgage), but the criteria are quite strict. Failing that, they could go for Equity Release on the new place - but make sure they go for one with low / no ERC.

zedmtrappe

338 posts

120 months

Wednesday 30th August 2023
quotequote all
Wacky Racer said:
They need to have a plan in place if their savings dwindle too much.
They will be fine once the cottage is sold.
Just a case of 'don't panic' then surely ??