Using Bridging Finance to Unlock Equity from London Investment Properties and Secure a New Family Home
£1.1m facility · 12-month term · investment-property sale exit
In short
How did bridging finance unlock equity from London investment properties to fund a new family home?
A landlord secured a £1.1 million, 12-month bridging facility to redeem mortgages on Ealing and Plymouth buy-to-lets and buy her rented Hertfordshire home before selling the investments. The combined property value exceeded £1.5 million. Specialist underwriting considered historic CCJs, with investment-property sales as the planned exit. The home purchase completed; final bridge repayment is not reported.
- £1.1 million is the total bridging facility, not the net equity released or home purchase price.
- The combined value of the Ealing, Plymouth and Hertfordshire properties exceeded £1.5 million; individual valuations and LTV are not disclosed.
- Agreed term: 12 months; planned exit: sale of the Ealing and Plymouth buy-to-lets.
- Reported outcome: Hertfordshire home purchased; investment sales and final loan repayment are not confirmed.
Illustrative property image — not the clients’ actual property.
- Bridging facility
- £1,100,000
- Agreed term
- 12 months
- Combined property value
- Over £1,500,000
- Investment locations
- Ealing & Plymouth
- Home purchased
- Hertfordshire
- Planned exit
- Sale of both buy-to-lets
- Challenge
- The client owned two mortgaged buy-to-let properties, one in Ealing, West London, and one in Plymouth. When the landlord of her rented Hertfordshire home decided to sell, she had an opportunity to buy directly before the property was marketed. Much of her capital was tied up in the investments, and waiting for both sales could have jeopardised the purchase. Existing mortgages, the short purchase window and historic credit issues, including previous County Court Judgments (CCJs), limited mainstream options. She wanted to secure her home without accepting rushed offers on the investment properties.
- Solution
- Clifton International facilitates introductions to specialist property finance teams, rather than acting as lender or mortgage adviser. In the supplied transaction account, the specialist bridging team reviewed the client's assets, objectives and credit history before approaching suitable lenders. The combined value of the Ealing investment, Plymouth buy-to-let and intended Hertfordshire purchase exceeded £1.5 million. The team structured a facility to redeem the existing investment mortgages, release portfolio equity and fund the onward purchase. Credit-profile issues were addressed within the application to strengthen the lender's assessment; this does not imply that CCJs were removed or that adverse-credit applications will always be accepted.
- Funding structure
- A £1.1 million bridging facility with a 12-month agreed term, structured around the Ealing and Plymouth investments and the intended Hertfordshire purchase. The facility redeemed the outstanding buy-to-let mortgages and provided capital towards purchasing the family home. The stated combined property value exceeded £1.5 million. The planned exit was the sale of the two investment properties. The supplied account does not specify individual security values, charge positions, mortgage redemption balances, net cash released, interest treatment or regulatory classification.
- Outcome
- The client successfully purchased her Hertfordshire home before waiting for the investment-property sales. The 12-month term gave her time to market the Ealing and Plymouth buy-to-lets rather than rely on immediate discounted sales. The account confirms the home purchase, but does not report completed investment sales, achieved sale prices or final repayment of the bridge. This is a reported case-specific outcome, not a guarantee of funding or future sale proceeds.
Case evidence, sources and limitations
Source: Clifton Private Finance's anonymised transaction narrative, headed ‘Using Bridging Finance to Unlock Equity from London Investment Properties and Secure a New Family Home’. The source account names Clifton Private Finance as the arranging team. Clifton International presents the case as an introducer, not as the lender or mortgage adviser. Figures and outcomes are reported case facts, not independently audited market statistics.
The interest rate, fees, precise LTV, individual property values, mortgage redemption balances, net capital released, charge positions, regulatory classification, funding timescale and completion date are not supplied. Do not treat £1.1 million as net equity released or infer an exact LTV from a combined value exceeding £1.5 million. The home purchase completed; investment sales and final bridge repayment are not confirmed. The image is illustrative, not the client's actual property. Other applications require individual underwriting and an evidenced exit; property may be repossessed if repayments are not maintained.
Case narrative updated . This is an editorial date, not the completion date.
- Clifton Private Finance — bridging loans
Clifton Private Finance is the source of the transaction narrative and the arranging team named in the account. This link is to its bridging loans overview, not a standalone record of this transaction.
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FAQs
Questions on this case
- Was £1.1 million the equity released from the Ealing property?
- No. £1.1 million was the total bridging facility. It redeemed mortgages on the Ealing and Plymouth buy-to-lets and provided funds towards the Hertfordshire purchase. The individual redemption balances, net equity released and home purchase price are not disclosed.
- Can bridging finance help buy a home before selling investment properties?
- It can, subject to lender criteria, sufficient security and an evidenced repayment plan. In this reported case, the client bought her rented Hertfordshire home using a 12-month bridge, with sales of her Ealing and Plymouth investments as the planned exit.
- Did historic CCJs prevent this bridging loan?
- No. A specialist lender considered the historic CCJs alongside the client's assets and proposed exit. This case does not establish that all adverse-credit applicants will qualify; the age, status and circumstances of credit issues must be assessed individually.
- What was the loan-to-value on this facility?
- The exact LTV is not disclosed. The total facility was £1.1 million and the combined value of the three properties exceeded £1.5 million, but individual security valuations and the lender's LTV calculation are not supplied.
- How was the £1.1 million bridge intended to be repaid?
- The planned exit was the sale of the Ealing and Plymouth buy-to-let properties during the agreed 12-month term. The source confirms the Hertfordshire home purchase, not completed investment sales or final repayment of the bridge.
- Was this a regulated or unregulated bridging loan?
- The supplied case account does not confirm the regulatory classification. A home purchase alongside investment properties requires specialist assessment of the borrower, purpose and security; the classification should not be inferred from this narrative alone.
More answers in our UK mortgage FAQs, covering standard mortgages, expat applications, foreign-currency income and bridging.
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