Comparisons of headline interest costs between a mortgage and a bridging loan reveal that bridging finance is much more expensive.

The reason for the differential is that bridging loans are strictly short term "property backed" products with terms between 1 day and 12 months. Interest rates charged also reflect higher risks associated with lending purely against property assets and nothing else. Whereas mortgage products are long term "property and income based" loans, available for up to 25 years.

Choosing the right loan product for your needs is essential. If you need finance for only six months then despite the high rates a bridging loans overall costs could well be lower against a more long term loan that you may well be "locked in" to for say 5 years.