One of the biggest challenges a homeowner can face when looking to upgrade or move is trying to sell their current home while buying another. If most of your net worth or equity is locked up in your current house, you will need to move it into cash to help fund the purchase of your new home. The alternative is to wait until your home is sold and you receive the funds before trying to buy a new one – but you could end up waiting for months.
The great news is that there are bridge financing options available to homeowners which can help to get things moving. Let’s take a look at how a bridge loan works and how it can help you to buy a new home before your sale is finalized.
How Does A Bridge Loan Work?
First, it is important to note that a bridge loan isn’t the same as your mortgage loan for your new home. Instead, when you take out bridge financing, you’ll borrow against the equity that you’ve built up in your current home. You’ll then be able to use these funds to help cover the costs involved with closing on your new house. Then, when you sell your old home, you’ll use part of the proceeds of that to pay off your bridge loan.
The main benefit you’ll get from this approach is a bit of extra time and flexibility in selling your home. Instead of having to accept a low offer or rush into a sale, you’ll have a bit of breathing room to take the best offer when the time is right.
Try To Avoid Making A Contingent Offer
Your bridge financing can also help you to make the winning bid and close on your new home faster. One piece of advice that some real estate agents and other experts have shared is to avoid making an offer on a new home that is contingent on selling your current home. This is especially true if you are buying in a hot real estate market where there are other buyers competing against you for the same home. If you’re already funded, you can submit an offer to buy the home as soon as the seller is ready.
As you can see, taking out a bridge loan against the equity of your current home is a great way to cover the costs of buying a new home. For more information about how bridge financing works and how you can pair it up with a mortgage for a new house or condo, contact us today. Our team of mortgage advisors is happy to share financing options that fit your needs and budget.
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About the Author:
Babak Moghaddam graduated from University of Southern California in 1985. He entered the mortgage industry as a compliance auditor at the Bank of New York in 1986 and completed his masters in Business Administration two years later. After seventeen years in the traditional mortgage banking world Babak finally transformed this vision into his own practice in 2002 when he formed Charter Pacific Lending Corp, a mortgage company that has provided over $900 Million in residential real estate loans throughout Southern California. Babak and his team do things a little differently than other mortgage providers. They work as financial advisors, because they have come to realize that a mortgage is a very powerful financial tool. And just like any other financial tool, it should be managed as part of the overall financial management plan to reach every home owner’s long and short-term financial goals much faster. You can contact Babak for a free consultation and strategy session at (800) 322-1217 X103.