Buying and selling at the same time: bridge financing explained

If your new home closes before your current home, bridge financing lets you use your pending sale proceeds early. Lenders normally require a firm, unconditional sale agreement, and they charge interest plus an administration fee for the bridge period.

The alternative is matching closing dates, which is cleaner but leaves less flexibility on both transactions.

Sequencing is the real decision. Selling first gives you certainty about your budget and reduces risk; buying first gives you certainty about where you are going. In slower markets, selling first is usually the lower-risk order. Talk to your lawyer and lender before you commit to either date.