Process
Exit Strategy
An exit strategy is how you plan to repay a bridging loan at the end of its term. Every bridging lender requires a credible, time-bound exit before they'll lend.
The three standard exits are sale of the security property, refinance to a longer-term mortgage, or sale of another asset providing the funds. Lenders rank these by certainty: an exchanged sale or a mortgage offer in principle is the strongest, while a vague "we'll sell on the open market" is weakest.
Strength of exit directly affects pricing. A confirmed sale (with exchange of contracts and a completion date) routinely secures the headline rate floor. A speculative exit can add 0.10-0.20% per month or cap the LTV lower.
Plan your exit before you take the bridge — not during. The most common bridging-gone-wrong scenario is a borrower whose 12-month bridge runs out of time because the planned refinance falls through and they hadn't budgeted for the cost of an extension or a re-bridge with a different lender.