Purchase Loans
Buy Before You Sell financing solves the worst timing problem in residential real estate: you need to sell your current home to afford your next one, but sellers don’t accept contingent offers in competitive markets, and listing your current home before you’ve found the next one forces you into a stressful simultaneous close. Buy Before You Sell programs use a lender-backed mechanism — either excluding your current mortgage from qualifying ratios on the new purchase, providing a bridge advance against the equity in your departing home, or offering a guaranteed purchase offer as a safety net — to let you make a clean, non-contingent offer on your next home, close, move in, and then sell your current home at your own pace without stacking two mortgage payments. The specifics vary by program, but the outcome is the same: you move first, sell second, and win deals contingent-offer borrowers lose.
These programs bridge the timing gap between buying and selling — so you’re not stuck waiting on your current home to close before you can act.
Your existing mortgage is often excluded from qualifying ratios on the new purchase, making it easier to afford both homes temporarily.
Two main approaches exist: the Contingency Buster (fast, no bridge note required) and the Trade-In Mortgage (larger advance against your current home’s value).
Most programs offer a guaranteed purchase offer on your departing home as a safety net — if it doesn’t sell at market within the program window, the program buys it at a pre-agreed price.
The program typically requires your current home to have meaningful equity — commonly 25%+ — to support the advance and guaranteed offer structure.
Fees are higher than a standard purchase loan because the program takes on timing and market risk. Expect 1–3% in program fees in addition to standard closing costs.
Selling a $600k home with $300k equity, buying at $900k. Sellers in the $900k price range won’t accept contingent offers, so traditional sequencing isn’t an option. Buy Before You Sell lets you buy non-contingent and sell after close.
New role starts in 30 days in a different city. Selling your current home takes 60–90 days. Buy Before You Sell closes the timing gap so you can move when the job requires.
Want to downsize from a $1M family home to a $600k condo in a different neighborhood. Need to find the right downsized home and move once — not list, move to temp housing, then move again after closing on the new place.
Standard sequencing often requires either a rent-back arrangement after selling or two moves (into temp housing, then into new home). Buy Before You Sell avoids both.
Has equity but not enough monthly cash flow to carry two mortgages. Program excludes the departing home’s mortgage from qualifying, so the buyer qualifies on the new home alone.
Current home worth $600k with $300k equity. Buyer makes non-contingent $900k offer using 20% down ($180,000) from savings plus the Contingency Buster to exclude the current $300k mortgage from qualifying ratios. Closes on new home; lists current home within 30 days. Program fee typically 1–2% of departing home value.
Buyer needs equity from current home to fund the down payment. Trade-In advances $240k (80% of $300k equity) at close. Buyer uses that plus $60k savings for 35% down ($297,500). Existing home sells within 60 days and the advance is settled from sale proceeds. Program fee ~2–3%.
Buyer uses Buy Before You Sell, closes on new home, lists current home. Market softens; no acceptable offer in 90 days. Program’s guaranteed offer triggers at a pre-agreed price (typically 5–10% below initial listing). Buyer exits cleanly without double-mortgage payments.
Example figures use illustrative rates and are for educational purposes only. Actual rates, terms, and costs depend on credit profile, market conditions, and property specifics.
Traditional bridge loans advance money against your current home’s equity to fund the new purchase, but usually don’t exclude the current mortgage from qualifying and don’t offer guaranteed-offer safety nets. Buy Before You Sell is bundled and coordinated; bridge is standalone financing.
A contingent offer says you’ll buy the new home only if your current home sells. In competitive markets, sellers reject contingent offers outright. Buy Before You Sell removes the contingency so your offer competes.
Rent-back lets you sell first and stay in the home while you find the next one, but it requires the buyer to agree and limits your search time. Simultaneous close forces perfect timing. Buy Before You Sell decouples the two transactions entirely.
Drawing on a HELOC lets you pull equity without selling, but it requires qualifying with two mortgages plus the HELOC payment, and the HELOC must close before you list the home. Buy Before You Sell is simpler and underwriting-friendly.
Explore the programs buy before you sell — move without selling first are most often compared against, plus the Purchase Loans hub for the full lineup and today's mortgage rates for current pricing context.
The Contingency Buster is built for speed — it helps you make a clean offer fast without needing a bridge loan. The Trade-In Mortgage provides a larger advance against your current home’s value and is better for buyers who need that equity to fund their new purchase.
That’s the whole point of these programs — to avoid that situation. Your existing mortgage is typically excluded from qualifying on the new purchase, so you’re not penalized for owning two homes temporarily.
The resale guarantee available through this program provides a safety net. If your home doesn’t sell within the program period, you have a guaranteed offer waiting — so you’re not stuck holding two properties indefinitely.
Most programs require 25% or more equity in your departing home to support the Contingency Buster or Trade-In structure. Lower equity may still qualify under specific program variants with higher fees.
Program fees typically run 1–3% of the departing home’s value in addition to standard closing costs on the new purchase. Trade-In Mortgages (larger advances) cost more than Contingency Busters (no advance).
No — Buy Before You Sell programs are for primary-residence-to-primary-residence moves. You need to be selling your current primary home and buying a new primary home.
The program evaluates your home’s marketability — active leaks, structural issues, or other major repair items can disqualify the home. Cosmetic updates and standard wear are fine.
The Contingency Buster can approve in 1–2 business days in most cases, giving you a signed letter to submit with your offer. That’s faster than a standard bridge loan and meaningfully faster than a HELOC.
If a market sale comes in below the guaranteed offer price, you typically keep the higher of the two. The guaranteed offer is a floor, not a ceiling.
No. Buy Before You Sell works at any price point where the current home has meaningful equity. The math works best in the $400k–$2M range, but the program is available at lower price points too.
Before you lock in a bridge strategy, run the affordability calculator on the new home to confirm the qualifying payment works once your current mortgage is paid off. Then model the new payment in the mortgage calculator so you know your long-term PITI before you move.