‘Silver bridgers’ is a term used to describe people over 60 who use bridging loans. BestAdvice.co.uk notes this month that bridging finance lenders and bridging brokers observed an increase in the number of older borrowers in 2017, and expect this trend to continue in 2018.
A typical ‘silver bridger’ is an individual or couple living in a large family home and wishing to downsize to a smaller one. A bridging loan is used to secure the purchase of the new smaller home and is then repaid after their family home has been sold.
There has also been an increase in older people investing in property, particularly those bought at property auctions for refurbishment, or to rent as buy-to-let property. Bridging loans are used to complete purchases of auction property that needs to be paid for 28 days after the auction. People over 60 are looking to increase their retirement income through buy-to-let property and reselling property after refurbishment.
Unlike previous generations, many older people do not want to sit back and have a life of gentle retirement. They want active interests, and this can include a property business. Some elderly people prefer property to investing in stocks and shares, especially if they can be active in the running of their property business.
There is no maximum age for a bridging borrower. As long as they have a plan for when and how the loan will be repaid and have property as security, the borrower’s age should not be an issue.
