United Trust Bank (UTB) has completed a £234,000 second charge bridging loan for a customer to buy a retirement home in Cyprus.
The borrower had paid a deposit and had six weeks to finalise the purchase before selling their West London home.
The bridging loan also allowed the customer to consolidate existing debts incurred from home improvements, thereby improving cash flow and settling all outstanding debts before relocating abroad.
They planned to repay the loan once their London property was sold.
The London property was valued at £702,000 through an automated valuation model (AVM), saving on valuation fees.
With a small first charge mortgage on the property, there was sufficient equity, making the second charge bridge just over 40% loan-to-value (LTV).
Consent was obtained from the first charge mortgage lender, and the funds were released in time for the property purchase.
Gary Lomax (pictured), key account manager at UTB, said: “Bridging loans are typically solutions to property finance problems.
“Our customer wanted to complete the purchase of their retirement home in the sun, but all their money was tied up in equity in their UK home.
“They had an existing mortgage, sizeable unsecured debts and didn’t have the income to support a large remortgage or second charge mortgage.”
Lomax added: “In these circumstances a second charge regulated bridging loan was an excellent and quick solution to their short-term funding problem.
“Not all lenders are happy to offer second charge bridging loans, but at UTB we have the appetite and the experience to provide brokers with a full range of options to help their customers achieve their goals.”
