Chain break

“My buyer pulled out days before exchange and I could lose the house I am buying”

Chain break bridging lets you complete on your new home before your existing one has sold, secured against the equity in the property you are selling. It is repaid from the sale proceeds, usually within a few months.

An illustrative situation, not a client case study. It describes the kind of enquiry this market sees. Any figures are examples, not a quotation, and no credit check or lender decision is involved in reading this.

Sound familiar?

Your buyer has withdrawn, or their own chain has broken
You have an offer accepted on a property and the seller is losing patience
You have substantial equity in the home you are selling
You are weeks rather than months from where you needed to be

The situation

Chains collapse for reasons that have nothing to do with you: a buyer four links down loses their mortgage offer, a survey turns up something, somebody changes their mind. The effect is the same — your sale disappears, and the purchase you have spent months arranging is suddenly unfunded.

The usual advice is to find another buyer, but that takes time you may not have. If the seller remarkets, you lose the property, the money already spent on searches and surveys, and in many cases the price you had agreed.

Why the usual lenders say no

A residential mortgage lender will not fund two properties at once on the strength of a sale that has not happened.
Affordability on both the existing mortgage and the new one rarely works, even temporarily.
The timescale — usually weeks — does not fit a term lender’s process.

What usually works

A bridge secured on the property you are selling

The equity in your current home does the work. You complete the purchase, your existing home continues to be marketed, and the bridge is repaid on completion of the sale.

Security over both properties

Taking a charge over both spreads the risk, which usually lowers the effective loan to value and improves the rate.

Rolled-up or retained interest

Neither requires a monthly payment, which matters when you are already carrying a mortgage on the property you are trying to sell.

Roughly how the numbers look

Illustrative figures for this situation
Example: home being sold	£420,000, £150,000 mortgage outstanding
Equity available	£270,000
Property being bought	£500,000
Typical structure	Bridge secured across both, repaid on the sale
Term	6 to 12 months, with headroom for a slower sale

Where the security is a home you live in, this is usually a regulated bridging loan, which involves a suitability assessment and a narrower panel of lenders. These are examples to show the shape of a deal, not a quotation. Work out your own figures in the bridging calculator.

What we would need from you

Details of both properties, including the agreed purchase price
Your estate agent’s marketing details and valuation for the property being sold
Any offers received, and the position of the rest of the chain
Details of the existing mortgage and a redemption figure
Photo ID, proof of address and proof of income
Your conveyancer’s details for both transactions

Things that catch people out

Be realistic about the sale price. A bridge repaid by a sale that needs a 10% discount to happen is a bridge with a problem built in.
Take a term with headroom. Extensions are possible but interest normally increases once a facility runs past term.
If the property has already been on the market a long time with no offers, the price is the issue, and we will say so.

Questions we get asked

Is chain break bridging regulated?

Where the loan is secured against the home you live in or intend to live in, it is generally a regulated bridging loan and FCA protections apply. We will confirm which category your case falls into, and who can act on it, before you commit.

What if my property takes longer to sell than expected?

Terms are usually set with headroom for exactly this. If the sale slips, tell us early — extensions are often possible, but the earlier the conversation the more options remain.

Is it cheaper to just lose the purchase and start again?

Sometimes, and we will tell you if we think so. The honest comparison is the cost of the bridge against the cost of losing the property, the fees already spent, and buying again in a market that may have moved.

The product that usually fits

See how it works

Every case is different. A specialist will confirm what actually fits yours.

Rather talk now?

020 4525 4876

9:00am – 5:30pm, Monday to Friday

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