Buying before selling creates a period when your finances depend on two properties and an uncertain sale date. Before considering bridging finance, map the borrowing during that overlap and the debt you expect to retain after the sale.
For Melbourne homeowners moving to a larger home, downsizing or changing suburbs, finding the next property can happen before the current home is sold. A finance plan needs to work when the sale is slower or the proceeds are lower than hoped.
What does a bridging loan do?
Bridging finance can help fund a new purchase while the existing property is being sold, subject to lender approval and product conditions. As a specific example, ANZ’s published bridging guidance describes a term of up to 12 months and requires borrowers to meet repayments on the ongoing and bridging loans. Other lenders’ structures and requirements may differ.
Draw the timeline before comparing loans
Put the proposed purchase settlement, current-home listing, expected sale and sale settlement on one page. Mark which dates are contractual and which are estimates. Then ask your broker to show the loan balances and required payments at each stage.
A useful planning sheet separates purchase costs, selling costs, the mortgage being repaid and the amount retained after settlement. Avoid using the expected sale price as though it were the cash available after all deductions.
Test a slower sale
Illustrative cash-flow exercise: suppose your estimated combined finance and property holding outgoings during the overlap are $5,000 per month. A three-month overlap would require $15,000; six months would require $30,000. The additional three months require another $15,000.
This is a hypothetical budgeting exercise, not a quote or interest calculation. Your actual costs depend on loan balances, rates, payment arrangements and property expenses. The example simply makes the cost of extra time visible.
Test lower net sale proceeds too
Ask for a second scenario with lower net proceeds from the existing home. For example, if the cash available after selling costs is $40,000 below your planning figure, where would that gap sit? Would it increase the proposed ongoing debt, use savings or make the plan unworkable? Any increased borrowing still needs lender approval.
Review the slower-sale and lower-proceeds scenarios together. Testing one at a time may miss the pressure caused when both occur.
Five questions before committing
- What is the maximum borrowing during the overlap?
- Which repayments must be paid from income or savings?
- What sale deadline applies under the actual loan terms?
- What happens if the property is still unsold at that deadline?
- How much ongoing debt is affordable after the sale?
Should I sell first instead?
Compare both sequences. Selling first may clarify the available proceeds but can create temporary accommodation and moving costs. Buying first may offer a different practical benefit while introducing overlap risk. Ask your conveyancer about settlement arrangements and your broker about the finance consequences of each sequence.
Plan the move with clear numbers
Explore our buying your next home service and contact Absolut Financial with your estimated dates, current loan and intended purchase budget. Our refinance cost guide can also help organise a comparison if changing your existing lending is part of the plan.
Information checked 29 September 2026. General information only. Bridging finance is subject to lender assessment, terms and suitability for your circumstances.