Residential bridging finance
Residential Bridging Loans Sussex
Short-term FCA-regulated lending for owner-occupiers across Sussex, from Brighton & Hove through Chichester, Worthing, Eastbourne and the wider East and West Sussex commuter belt. We introduce regulated work to authorised partners and keep the case moving day by day.
- Decisions in hours
- Completion in days
- £150k to £25m
- Sussex bridging desk
Sussex · Sussex
Bridge to your next move.
About residential bridging
Short-term property finance across East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove.
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 Sussex homeowners caught between sale and onward purchase, regulated bridging buys the time you need without the open-ended risk of losing the property you want. We work with authorised partners on every regulated case and keep the underwriting tight from day one. The county covers a wide spread of housing stock, from Brighton townhouses through Lewes and Horsham commuter homes to the coastal stock at Bexhill, Eastbourne and Worthing, and the Chichester catchment.
Regulated bridging suits owner-occupiers across East and West Sussex who need a residential bridge against a property they live in or plan to live in. Typical borrowers include downsizers selling a large family home in Hove or Haywards Heath and moving to something smaller along the seafront at Eastbourne or Bexhill, buyers whose existing sale has lost a buyer mid-chain in the Lewes or Horsham commuter belt, and homeowners completing on a new build at the Burgess Hill or Crawley fringe before their current home reaches the market. The product fits clients with clear income, a clean credit profile, and a credible sale plan inside a 12-month window. It does not suit speculative buying or property held purely for investment, both of which sit under the unregulated regime.
A typical case
How a residential bridging case runs in Sussex.
A retired couple in Haywards Heath accept an offer on their four-bedroom detached, then find the period villa they want in Lewes on the market for two weeks with three offers in. Their buyer is solid but stuck behind a related sale in Burgess Hill that will not exchange for another six weeks. Without a bridge they lose the onward purchase. We package the case to one of two regulated lenders on our panel, both of which lend on owner-occupier terms across Sussex. The bridge sits at 65% loan to value against the Lewes purchase, on a 9-month term with serviced or rolled-up interest. Indicative terms back in 24 hours, full underwriting in 5 working days, completion 12 working days after instruction. The couple complete on the onward purchase, move in, and the Haywards Heath sale completes 7 weeks later. The bridge redeems out of the sale proceeds with 2 months of headroom on the term. Similar mechanics work for buyers in Hove, Brighton BN1 and BN2, Worthing, Chichester PO19 and the Horsham and Crawley RH belt where chain dependencies routinely stretch beyond the original timetable.
Rates and fees
What this product costs.
Regulated bridging in the current market prices between 0.55% and 0.85% per month depending on loan to value, term and exit strength. Cases that are clearly inside 6 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 sale property is not yet marketed, price higher. The arrangement fee is typically 1.5% to 2.0% of the loan, added to the facility rather than paid upfront. Valuation fees run case by case and are paid on instruction of the valuer. 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 regulated bridging is typically 70% against open market value for an owner-occupied home in good condition. Most cases settle at 65% to give the lender comfort on the exit. Terms run from 1 month to 12 months for FCA-regulated work. Most Sussex clients 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.
Regulated bridging has two main exit routes. The first is the sale of the existing residence: the buyer in Burgess Hill or Haywards Heath 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 Sussex postcode, 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.
Regulated 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 post-war detached in Worthing 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 Sussex 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. Period stock in the Lewes conservation area, Brighton Regency squares and Chichester city centre all behave well at valuation provided the surveyor has recent comparable evidence on the right street.
What doesn't
Where cases break.
Cases break where the sale property is overpriced, where the borrower has unresolved credit issues, where the security has non-standard construction, 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. Coastal stock at risk of erosion, leasehold flats with short remaining terms in some Brighton seafront blocks, and properties with unresolved planning issues all need work before they package cleanly.
Our process
From first call to drawdown.
Step one, a triage call with one of our brokers. We need to see 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 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 and work with authorised partner firms for regulated work.
Talk to us
Tell us about the deal.
A quick triage call, then indicative lender terms inside 24 hours. We work Sussex and across Sussex.
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 regulated bridging on a buy-to-let in Brighton or Eastbourne?
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Not as regulated bridging. The regulated regime applies only where the security is occupied by the borrower or an immediate family member. A buy-to-let in BN1, BN3 or BN21 held purely for rental income sits under the unregulated regime. The good news is unregulated rates are often only marginally higher, and the process is faster because the FCA consumer rules do not attach. Most landlord clients across Sussex use our unregulated bridging product instead.
How quickly can a regulated bridge complete across Sussex?
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Standard regulated completion is 10 to 14 working days from instruction. 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 Sussex bridging specialist about residential bridging.
Indicative terms in 24 hours. We work residential bridging cases across Sussex and the wider Sussex market on a same-day enquiry response.