Bridge Loan
Buy the next one before you sell this one.
Short-term financing secured by your current property so you can purchase without a sale contingency, then repay the bridge when the departing home closes.
What makes this loan different
- Make non-contingent offers in competitive markets
- Secured against the departing residence
- Interest-only, typically 6 to 18 months
- Repaid automatically at the sale
Who this is built for
- Move-up buyers in a tight market
- Sellers who need the new home before listing
- Investors timing an acquisition against a disposition
Why non-contingent offers win
A sale contingency is the single biggest weakness in a residential offer. Bridge financing removes it by giving you the down payment from your existing equity before your house sells, which frequently beats higher offers that carry contingencies.
It also lets you move once, stage an empty house, and sell without the pressure of a simultaneous closing.
How repayment works
The bridge is interest-only and pays off in full at the closing of your departing residence. Some structures allow the payment to be deferred and rolled into the payoff so you are not carrying three payments at once.
What lenders typically ask for
- Details and current payoff figures for the property being sold or refinanced
- Details and contract for the property being acquired
- Evidence of equity in the departing property, often including a valuation
- A written exit plan with timing
- Standard credit, income, and asset documentation, with requirements varying by program
Requirements vary by lender and by file. This is a general picture of what is commonly requested, not a checklist for a specific loan.
Worth knowing
Two payments at once is the real cost.
Until the departing property sells, the borrower carries both. Building a realistic number of months into the plan — not the optimistic one — is what makes a bridge work.
Exit risk sits entirely with the borrower.
If the property takes longer to sell, or sells for less, the bridge still matures. Extension options vary and often carry fees.
Short term by design.
Bridge financing is short-term, with its own points and carrying costs. It buys timing and negotiating position, which can be worth a great deal — but the comparison should be against what waiting would actually cost.
Some programs are consumer, some are not.
Bridge loans exist on both sides of the business-purpose line, with meaningfully different protections and requirements. Which one a given scenario falls under is worth establishing early.
See what this program would take in your case.
We are brokers — this program is shopped across hundreds of wholesale lenders, not quoted off one rate sheet. A short application gives us enough to compare real options.
Program availability, terms, guidelines, and documentation requirements vary by lender and are subject to underwriting and change without notice. This is not a commitment to lend.