Specialist lender Together has joined forces with buy-to-let and commercial mortgage broker TBMC to provide property investors with auction and bridging finance as well as commercial mortgages. 

Bridging loans were once perceived as a ‘last resort’ lending option. But demand for bridging finance – short-term secured loans designed to bridge a temporary cash shortfall when acquiring a property – has surged in recent years.  

Many property investors are attracted to the greater flexibility offered by alternative finance providers, including no minimum term and no exit fees, which partly explains why it is now expanding significantly faster than the mainstream mortgage market.  

The speed at which bridging finance can be implemented is the main reason for its use. Unlike mainstream mortgage lenders which have been reluctant to increase their short-term and commercial lending after the last recession, a bridging lender provides a real time solution to any potential funding gap by making available the required funding a purchaser needs to acquire property in as little as 24 hours.

From development and investment properties to homes with short leases that may be difficult to secure a mortgage on, bridging can be appropriate in a wide range of circumstances, but it is most commonly used in the residential sector to acquire properties at auction.

Check out these top tips on how to finance a property purchase at auction. 

Very few mortgage lenders, amid tougher borrowing rules, are able to provide purchasers with the necessary finance required within the relatively short 21-28 days completion period as is the case at auction, which is one reason why many auction goers turn to short-term finance lenders for an instant bridging loan. 

Jane Simpson, managing director at TBMC, said: “We’re already known as the go-to packager for buy-to-let and commercial mortgages but we’re delighted to be expanding our commercial offering with auction and bridging finance, as well as second charge mortgages with Together.