Care Home Fees Bridging Loans | Platinum Global

Care Home Fees Bridging Loans

care home fees bridging loans

When a family member needs residential care, the financial reality can be overwhelming. Care home fees in England currently average £1,000-£1,400 per week for residential care and £1,200-£1,800 per week for nursing care — costs of £52,000-£93,600 per annum that must often be funded from the sale of the family home. However, selling a property takes months, while care home places need to be secured within days or weeks. Care home fees bridging loans provide the short-term capital to fund care costs immediately, secured against the family home, and repaid when the property is eventually sold.

Platinum Global Bridging Finance arranges care home fees bridging loans from our office at 64 Knightsbridge, London. We understand the urgency and sensitivity of these situations and work with families, solicitors, and power of attorney holders to structure facilities from £50,000 to £2 million. Indicative terms are delivered within 24 hours.

What Is a Care Home Fees Bridging Loan?

A care home fees bridging loan is a short-term facility secured against the property of a person entering residential care. The loan provides immediate capital to fund care home fees, top-up payments, and associated costs while the property is prepared for sale, marketed, and sold. The loan is repaid from the sale proceeds when the property transaction completes.

This is fundamentally different from a care sector bridging loan, which is used by care home operators to acquire or refinance care facilities. A care home fees bridge is a personal or family finance solution that helps individuals and their families manage the transition into residential care without the financial pressure of needing to sell the family home at speed — and potentially at a discount.

Care Home Fees Bridging Lending Criteria

• Loan sizes from £50,000 to £2 million
• LTV up to 70% on the property value
• Interest rates from 0.55% per month
• Terms from 3 to 18 months
• Interest rolled up — no monthly payments required
• Regulated bridging loan (property is or was the borrower’s home)
• Applications from the person entering care, family members, or attorneys under Lasting Power of Attorney
• Elderly borrowers accepted — no upper age limit with most specialist lenders
• Properties in any condition considered
• No broker fee on facilities of £500,000 or above

When Care Home Fees Bridging Loans Are Needed

Funding Care Fees Before the Property Sells

The most common scenario. A parent or family member has been assessed as needing residential care. A care home place has been identified and needs to be secured with immediate or near-immediate admission. The family home needs to be sold to fund the care fees, but the sale process — clearing the property, instructing agents, marketing, viewings, offers, conveyancing — takes 3-9 months. The care home fees bridge covers the gap between entering care and receiving the sale proceeds.

Avoiding a Forced Quick Sale

Without bridging finance, families face pressure to sell the property quickly — often accepting below-market offers from cash buyers or property traders who exploit the urgency. A bridge removes this pressure entirely. The family can market the property at the correct price, wait for the right buyer, and achieve full market value. The additional sale proceeds typically exceed the bridging cost significantly.

Local Authority Deferred Payment Agreements Not Available

Local authorities in England offer Deferred Payment Agreements (DPAs) that allow care fees to be deferred until the property is sold or the person dies. However, DPA eligibility is restricted — the person must have less than £23,250 in non-property assets, the property must not be occupied by a spouse or dependent, and the local authority may cap the amount deferred. Where a DPA is not available or insufficient, a bridging loan provides an alternative.

Top-Up Payments for Preferred Care Homes

Local authority-funded care placements are typically in homes charging the local authority rate — which may not be the family’s preferred home. A more expensive care home may require a top-up payment from the family. A bridge can fund both the top-up element and the full fees during the period before the property sale completes.

Property Requiring Works Before Sale

Elderly owners’ properties may have been poorly maintained and require works before they can be marketed at their full value — repairs, decoration, garden clearance, or compliance works. A bridge provides capital to fund both the care fees and the property works simultaneously, maximising the eventual sale price.

Probate Situations

Where the person entering care has died and the estate is in probate, care fees already incurred may need to be settled from the estate. A bridge secured against the estate property provides the capital to settle care debts while the probate process and property sale are completed.

Worked Example: Funding Care Fees

Margaret, aged 84, needs to move into a residential care home. Her family has identified a suitable home charging £1,200 per week. Margaret owns a house valued at £450,000 with no mortgage. She has savings of £30,000 — sufficient to cover initial care costs for approximately 6 months, but the family wants to avoid depleting these savings entirely as they provide a financial safety net.

Solution: a care home fees bridging loan of £80,000 secured against Margaret’s property (18% LTV). Interest rate: 0.55% per month, rolled up. Term: 12 months. The loan covers approximately 15 months of care fees at £1,200 per week, providing a comfortable buffer while the property is prepared for sale, marketed, and sold. The property sells at month 7 for £440,000. Total bridge cost over 7 months: approximately £3,080 in interest plus £1,200 arrangement fee and £2,000 legal fees = £6,280. The family avoided a quick sale that would likely have achieved only £380,000-£400,000 — a saving of £40,000-£60,000 against the £6,280 bridging cost.

How Care Home Fees Bridging Works

The process is designed to be as straightforward as possible during what is an emotionally difficult time for families. The application can be made by the person entering care (if they have mental capacity), a family member acting under a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for property and financial affairs, a deputy appointed by the Court of Protection, or a solicitor acting on behalf of the person or the estate.

The lender instructs a valuation of the property — often a desktop valuation to minimise cost and delay. Solicitors handle the legal work, including verification of the LPA or deputyship order where applicable. Once the loan is approved, funds are released to the family’s solicitor and used to pay care fees directly to the care home or to the family’s account for ongoing fee payments. The loan is repaid when the property is sold.

Lasting Power of Attorney and Mental Capacity

If the person entering care lacks mental capacity to make financial decisions, a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for property and financial affairs must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before a bridging loan can be arranged. If no LPA exists, a family member must apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order — a process that takes 4-6 months. This is why we strongly recommend that families put LPAs in place well before they are needed.

Where an LPA is already registered, the attorney can apply for the bridging loan and sign the legal documentation on behalf of the person entering care. The lender will require a certified copy of the registered LPA and may require confirmation from a medical professional that the donor lacks capacity (to confirm the LPA is properly activated).

Costs of Care Home Fees Bridging

Monthly interest rates for care home fees bridging typically range from 0.55% to 0.75% per month — at the lower end of the bridging market because these are typically low-LTV, regulated facilities secured against the borrower’s home. Arrangement fees are typically 1-1.5% of the loan amount. Valuation fees: £300-£800. Legal fees: £1,500-£3,000 (may be higher if LPA or Court of Protection documentation is involved).

On a £100,000 care home fees bridge held for 6 months at 0.60% per month, the total interest cost would be approximately £3,600. Including arrangement fee (£1,500 at 1.5%) and legal costs (£2,000), the total cost would be around £7,100. On an £80,000 facility over 8 months at 0.55% per month, the total cost would be approximately £5,520 all-in.

Alternatives to Bridging for Care Home Fees

Bridging is not the only option for funding care fees, and families should consider all available alternatives. Deferred Payment Agreements (DPAs) from the local authority — available where the person meets the eligibility criteria, with interest charged at a government-set rate. Equity release — available for borrowers aged 55+, providing a lump sum secured against the property with no monthly payments, but a long-term commitment rather than a short-term solution. NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funding — available for individuals whose primary need is health-related rather than social care, fully funded by the NHS with no means test. Savings and investments — using existing liquid assets to fund care fees until the property sale completes. Family contributions — family members funding care fees directly until the property sale proceeds are available.

In many cases, a bridging loan is the fastest and most practical solution — particularly when a care home place needs to be secured immediately and the property sale will take several months. The total bridging cost is typically a fraction of the discount that would be accepted on a forced quick sale.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get a bridging loan to pay care home fees if there is no Lasting Power of Attorney?

If the person entering care has mental capacity, they can apply for the bridging loan themselves. If they lack capacity and no LPA exists, a family member must apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order before a loan can be arranged — a process that takes 4-6 months. In urgent cases, an interim order may be available.

Is there an age limit for care home fees bridging?

Most specialist lenders have no upper age limit for care home fees bridging. The loan is secured against the property (not dependent on the borrower’s income or life expectancy) and is repaid from the property sale proceeds.

Can the property be sold while someone is living in the care home?

Yes. Once the person has moved into the care home, the property can be prepared for sale, marketed, and sold in the normal way. The property must be vacated for viewings and completion. If a spouse or dependent remains in the property, the situation is more complex — the local authority may disregard the property value in the means test, or a bridging loan may not be appropriate.

What if the property takes longer to sell than expected?

Most care home fees bridges are arranged on 12-month terms, providing a comfortable window for the sale. If the property has not sold within the initial term, most lenders will consider a term extension. We recommend pricing the property competitively from the outset to minimise the holding period and bridging cost.

Does Platinum Global charge a fee?

No broker fee on facilities of £500,000 or above. For smaller care home fees facilities below this threshold, a broker fee may apply — we confirm this during the initial assessment.

Related Bridging Loans

• Bridging Loans — our main UK bridging loans page
• Care Sector Bridging Loans — for care home operators and investors
• Probate Bridging Loans
• Second Charge Bridging Loans
• Fast Bridging Loans
• London Bridging Loans