It is clear that the UK housing market is seeing a setback - reports of falling prices, coupled with rising mortgage rates has spelt misery for many Brits who just keep up with mortgage repayments: up to 60,000 families are at a high risk of repossession, with the families affected spending over 75% of their disposal income each month on mortgage payments alone*. But for some, this isn't all bad news. As repossessions become more common, housing auctions are on the rise - and the way to get ahead at housing auctions are bridging loans. Short-term, large loans secured on your property could be a great, cheap way of finding a second property. Even with housing woe, with a keen eye, a sensible plan and good bridging loans you could certainly come out tops.

Auctions are high octane, high pressure environments that require split-second judgment and a ready source of money - many successful bidders only have a few weeks to finance their new, low cost home. That's where bridging loans come in.

Bridging loans are secured loans taken from the equity in your property to help you when you need money most - they bridge the gap for you. But bridging loans are only short-term deals - the borrower has to pay back the usually large amount in a matter of months, or face hefty rates. But this shouldn't be a problem - as soon as the new property is paid for, the buyer can mortgage the home and pay back the bridging loans with the proceeds.

Lenders who are left saddled with properties want to sell them on as quickly as possible to recoup expenses, so you can save a huge amount from home auctions. And there are a lot of auctioned homes out there: the number of residential properties offered at auction last year rose by over 5%, from 18,525 to 21,528***. So with a firm hand and good bridging loans, you could be part of the new home auction trend.

And estimates are that repossessions will continue to climb higher into 2008 and could exceed 45,000**, there are a lot of readily available homes to be had out there, with the help of bridging loans they could be your dream purchase.

So if you think you could find a cheap property for buy-to-let or investment at a home auction, talk to an adviser today about bridging loans. There is always risk with such a venture, so advice is crucial - an adviser will tell you if you can realistically afford to invest, and invest quickly. And then once the house has been bought, an adviser can find you a mortgage just in time to pay off the bridging loans. Home auctions and bridging loans are not for the faint of heart, so get some advice and have a careful plan of action before taking part in this novel method of house buying.

*Liberal Democrats, April 2008

**Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors

*** Figures from home auctioneers, Essential Investment Group