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How are landlords financing properties mainstream lenders won’t accept?

ended 14. August 2026

Bridging Loan Directory is looking at how landlords finance properties that are not initially acceptable to mainstream mortgage lenders.

We would like to hear from brokers, lenders, landlords and other property professionals with recent first-hand experience. Examples might involve a property’s condition, lack of a kitchen or bathroom, planning or title issues, a short lease, unusual construction, tenancy complications or substantial refurbishment requirements.

Please explain:

  • why conventional finance was unavailable;
  • which funding route was used instead;
  • what work or change was required; and
  • whether the property was subsequently refinanced, sold or retained.

Recent anonymised examples are welcome. Please include your role, the property type and enough detail to explain how the financing worked. Concise responses of approximately 100–200 words would be ideal.

After Bridging Loan Directory publishes the story, Newspage will adapt it for a wider consumer audience and distribute it to national and consumer media. 

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Tony Sanchez
Founder at Bridging Loan Directory
Through Bridging Loan Directory’s reporting, we regularly see landlords use short-term property finance where a property is not initially suitable for a conventional buy-to-let mortgage.

The issue may be its condition, missing facilities, planning or title complications, an unsuitable tenancy or the amount of refurbishment required. Bridging finance can provide time to complete the purchase and address a clearly identified problem before the property is refinanced onto a longer-term mortgage.

That route only works when the initial obstacle can realistically be resolved. The borrower still needs to understand the work required, its cost and whether the property will meet the intended lender’s criteria afterwards. A proposed refinance should not be treated as automatic.

The most important question is therefore not simply how to finance an unacceptable property, but what must change before a mainstream lender will accept it.

Tony Sanchez, founder of Bridging Loan Directory
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Tracey Dixon
Buy-to-Let Mortgage Specialist & Owner at Pure Mortgage and Protection
As a mortgage broker working with landlords, I often find that a property described as “unmortgageable” isn’t necessarily a bad investment – it simply isn’t mortgageable in its current condition.
A common example is a property requiring substantial refurbishment, or one without a functioning kitchen or bathroom. A mainstream buy-to-let lender may decline it because it isn’t considered habitable or readily lettable at the point of purchase.
In that situation, short-term bridging finance can provide the landlord with the time and funding needed to purchase the property and complete the necessary works. Once the refurbishment is finished and the property meets normal lending standards, the aim is usually to refinance onto a mainstream buy-to-let mortgage and repay the bridge.
The important part is having the exit strategy planned from the outset.
Bridging shouldn’t be viewed as the destination – sometimes it is simply the bridge that makes a mainstream mortgage possible.
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Nouran Moustafa
Practice Principal & IFA at Roxton Wealth
One of the most common problems I see is a property that is perfectly capable of becoming a good rental, but is simply not mortgageable on day one.

For example, a property needing substantial refurbishment, or without a functioning kitchen or bathroom, can fall outside mainstream buy-to-let criteria even when the underlying deal makes complete sense.

In those situations, bridging finance can act as the missing middle. The landlord purchases or refinances using a short-term facility, completes the works, gets the property into a lettable and mortgageable condition, and then exits onto a standard buy-to-let mortgage.

The important bit is having the exit planned before taking the bridge. Bridging should not be used to “hope” a property becomes financeable later. You need to understand exactly what work is required, what the finished property should be worth, and which lenders are likely to accept it once the refurbishment is complete.
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Hannah Vandervennin
Director - Mortgage Adviser at The Mortgage Consultancy
Landlords are increasingly using bridging and specialist finance to buy properties that don’t fit conventional mortgage criteria at the point of purchase.

In this market, the margin is often hidden in the complexity that puts another investor off: a short lease, title split, change of use or a property that needs to be bought one way today and refinanced differently tomorrow.

The specialist finance market has grown with that, and there are far more options for investors using more sophisticated buying structures.

Every round of tax or regulatory change seems to make good investors dig deeper for where the next opportunity sits.

That’s why we often work backwards from the finished asset. What could this property become? Where is the value being created? What needs to happen before the long-term finance works?

The investors doing this well usually understand specialist finance and have a team around them who understands the strategy too.
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Editor
Adam Stiles
Managing Director at Helix Financial Partners
There's usually two reasons a mainstream lender won't lend and that's either the property or the borrower. The latter is a harder situation to change (depending on the circumstances of course), but the former can be rectified either with a bridging loan or in cash assuming it's a property related defect that can be fixed.