Buy with a bridge, do the works, refinance onto a buy to let. Enter the deal and see the cash you need on day one, the cash for the works, what the bridge costs to clear, what the refinance is likely to be limited to, and how much of your own money stays in. LBTT and the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement are worked out on the price. Free, no email address required.
We arrange property finance from £75,000, so a bridge of this size is below our minimum.
Indicative only. The refinance depends on the lender's valuation and its own tests, and some term lenders will not refinance within six months of purchase. ADS cannot be borrowed. Rates checked against Revenue Scotland on 7 October 2026. Not an offer of finance.
Get the real number: one working dayTwo numbers decide whether a bridge to let works: the cash you need to get in, and the cash that stays in once the refinance has repaid the bridge. The first is the deposit on the bridge, LBTT and ADS, and the legal and valuation costs, with the works on top. The second is what is left after the term lender's loan clears the bridge, its interest and its fees.
The refinance is the lower of two tests. The loan to value cap is a share of what the valuer says the finished property is worth. The rental test is the loan the rent can support at the lender's stress rate and cover. On modest rents the rental test often binds first, so a big uplift in value does not always mean a big refinance.
For how the whole sequence works, read our page on bridge to let finance in Scotland. Buying at a discount? The below market value bridging guide covers lenders that size the bridge on value rather than price. To cost a bridge on its own, use the bridging loan calculator, and to test the rental cover on a finished let, the BTL stress test.
Buying a property with a short-term bridging loan, doing the work it needs, letting it, then refinancing onto a buy to let loan that repays the bridge. It suits property a term lender will not touch yet: no working kitchen, damp, a tired tenement flat bought at auction.
Often the rental test. A term lender caps the loan at a share of the value, typically up to 75%, and also checks that the rent covers the stressed interest by 125% or 145%. On cheaper flats with modest rents the rental test frequently produces the lower figure, which is why this calculator shows both.
Not always. Some term lenders will not refinance within six months of purchase, or will only lend against the purchase price in that window. Others will use the new value once the works are done and evidenced. Check the exit before you take the bridge.
No. LBTT and the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement are paid in cash on completion and lenders will not fund them. They are in the cash needed on day one above.
Send the purchase, the works and the plan for the refinance. One working day to an honest view on whether it stacks up.