Fast bridging finance

Bridging finance does exactly what the name suggests: it carries you from one side of a gap to the other. On one side is something that has to be paid now. On the other is money you are confident is coming, but not yet. The bridge is a short-term loan secured against property, repaid when the money on the far side arrives.

For business owners, the gap often looks like one of these:

• A new warehouse or shop has to settle before the old premises sell.
• A bank refinance has been approved in principle but settlement is weeks away, and a creditor will not wait.
• A large insurance claim or contract payment is confirmed but not yet paid.
• A business sale is agreed but completion is months off, and the owner needs capital for the next venture.

Why bridging can be fast

Traditional bridging through a bank involves full assessments of both properties, valuations and long credit queues. Our bridging loans need no valuation, lean on the security and the exit rather than years of financials, and use electronic signing. That is why approval within the hour is common and why funds within 24 hours is possible. For the very fastest setup, the bridge can be secured by a caveat, then converted to a registered mortgage if it needs to run longer.

Seen enough to know you want to talk? Start here. It costs nothing to ask and leaves your credit file untouched.

Making the exit bulletproof

The exit is the heart of every bridging loan. A good exit is specific, realistic and evidenced:

Exit type	Evidence that helps
Property sale	Signed contract, or an agent’s appraisal and marketing plan
Refinance	Approval letter or term sheet from the new lender
Contract payment	Signed contract and payment schedule
Business sale	Heads of agreement and expected completion date

Build in time. Settlements get delayed, refinances get conditions, and buyers ask for extensions. Bridging terms are flexible and you can keep the loan as long as you need it, but having a buffer from day one removes stress later. Our guide to early repayment and exit planning goes through the details.

Repayments while you wait

Because the whole point is that cash is short until the exit, interest on a bridging loan can be prepaid or added to the loan. There may be nothing to pay until the bridge is repaid in full. Use the repayment estimator in its no-repayments mode to see the payout figure.

A worked example (illustrative)

A physiotherapy group has agreed to buy a larger clinic building and must settle in 10 days. Its existing clinic is on the market with strong interest, but no contract yet. The bank financing the new building will lend most of the purchase price, leaving a shortfall of about $380,000. The owners provide details of the existing clinic and their home, are approved for a bridging loan the same afternoon with interest added, and settle on time. When the old clinic sells eight weeks later, the bridge is repaid from the proceeds.

Your fast-funding checklist

Have these within reach and you remove the usual causes of delay:

• Details of the property offered as security and any existing mortgage
• Evidence of the exit, such as a contract, approval letter or appraisal
• Settlement date or payment deadline
• ID for every owner and guarantor
• The exact shortfall to be bridged

Speed bumps to avoid

In our experience, delays usually come from one of these:

• An exit that depends on several things going right at once
• Owners of the security property who are hard to reach
• Leaving the enquiry until the day before settlement
• Unclear figures on the shortfall

Get the form right, get funded faster

The enquiry takes about 60 seconds, and those 60 seconds decide how smoothly everything after it goes. Accurate figures for revenue and the amount, a straight answer about credit history and a clear yes or no on property mean the assessor can move straight to the decision. Guesswork means rework, and rework is the enemy of a 24-hour turnaround.

The short version

• Covers the gap until a sale, settlement or refinance
• $20k to $5m against residential or commercial property
• Interest can be prepaid or added, so no repayments while you wait
• Flexible terms if the exit event runs late

Where the hours actually go

Think of it in four blocks of time. The first few minutes: your enquiry and the first call. The first hour: evidence in, assessment done, approval given, sometimes inside 15 minutes. The next few hours: loan documents issued and signed online by everyone who needs to sign. Then payment: funds released, with money landing within 24 hours of enquiring entirely possible. Each block runs faster when you have your documents, your guarantors and your phone close at hand.

Find out how fast you could be funded

If this sounds like your situation, the next step takes about a minute. There is no credit check to enquire, your details are not sprayed to multiple lenders, and a real person picks it up. The more accurate your answers, the quicker the match. Enquire now.