Buy before you sell: finance that lets you secure the next property first
You have found the right property, but the one you already own has not settled yet, and the seller will not wait. Windsor Finance arranges bridging finance that closes the gap, so you can buy first and sell on your own timeline instead of a forced one.
The situation you are in
The market does not move in a tidy order. The home or investment you want comes up, often at the wrong moment, and the vendor wants an unconditional contract with a settlement date you cannot meet from a sale that has not happened.
You have a few bad options on the table. Sell first and rent in between, which means two moves and the risk of being priced out while you wait. Make your purchase conditional on your sale, which most vendors in a competitive market will reject. Or drop your asking price to force a fast sale, and hand back the equity you spent years building.
None of those serve you. The real question is simpler: how do you settle the purchase before the sale lands, without a fire-sale on the property you already own?
How bridging finance closes the gap
Bridging finance is short-term, property-secured lending designed for exactly this. It releases funds against your existing property (and the one you are buying) so you can settle the purchase now, then repay the bridge when your sale completes.
Windsor Finance is a finance broker, not a lender. We hold no capital of our own and approve nothing. Instead we take your deal to a panel of Australian bank and non-bank lenders, then package and place it with the one that fits your timeline, your equity position, and your exit. Because we have no balance sheet, we have no reason to push one lender's bridging product over another. The recommendation follows your deal.
In practice: indicative terms come back inside 24 to 48 hours of a complete enquiry. Standard bridging settles in one to three weeks. Where the deadline is genuinely tight, private and caveat-style options can settle in three to ten business days. Bridging rates are indicative and depend on your loan-to-value ratio (LVR) and the strength of the exit, but cleaner exits and lower LVRs price the cheapest. The lender confirms the final position on application.
Key facts
- Indicative terms back inside 24 to 48 hours of a complete enquiry
- Standard bridging settles in 1 to 3 weeks; private and caveat options in 3 to 10 business days
- LVR up to around 75% of value on standard security; lenders need genuine equity, typically 20% to 35%
| Structure | Indicative rate | LVR |
|---|---|---|
| Standard bridging | Indicative* | ~75% |
| Private / caveat | ~9–16% p.a.* | ~65–75% |
Cost calculator
When this fits
The home or investment you want comes up before your current one has settled, and the vendor will not wait.
A competitive market means a sale-conditional offer gets rejected; you need to settle without that condition.
Avoid a forced fire-sale on the property you already own just to free up funds in time.
Two structures solve most cases
Most buy-before-you-sell cases are solved with one of two structures. A broker confirms which applies before anything proceeds.
Suits the typical residential or investment move where you have real equity and a sale already in motion. Terms run 6 to 12 months, with LVR up to around 75% of value on standard security. The right product when you have a buyer lined up or a listing that is moving.
Suits the genuinely urgent case, where the bank cannot move fast enough and the settlement date is days away. The fastest money on the panel, priced higher to reflect that speed, often quoted monthly or in the 9% to 16% per annum range as indicative figures. The right call when certainty of funds on a fixed date matters more than the headline rate.
A five-step process built to hold a settlement date
The two properties, the purchase price, the equity you hold, the timeline, and how the bridge gets repaid.
Within 24 to 48 hours we return one or more indicative structures from suitable lenders. No commitment either side, no cost.
Once you choose a route, we package identification, proof of equity, the purchase contract, and your exit evidence such as a sale contract or listing.
The lender instructs a valuation and runs credit assessment on the file.
Legals run in parallel and funds release on settlement.
Where we earn our keep is the packaging and the pace. A clean, complete file placed with the right lender first time avoids the costly cycle of a decline followed by a re-shop. We also push the valuer, the credit team, and the conveyancer to hold the timetable when a settlement date is fixed.
What worries people, answered honestly
Bridging is too expensive, is it worth it? +
What if my property does not sell in time? +
My bank already declined a bridge, what now? +
I do not have enough equity, can it still work? +
Talk to a broker before the deadline
Found the next property while your current one has not settled? A Windsor broker looks at both properties, talks through the likely lenders, and comes back with indicative structures inside 24 to 48 hours. There is no charge to structure the deal and shortlist lenders. You only pay once you give the go-ahead to proceed, and every cost is disclosed in writing, up front, before you commit.