Bridge loans in California — buy before you sell

A bridge loan lets a California homeowner borrow against the equity in their current home to fund the down payment on a new purchase — before the current home is sold. The lender appraises the departing property, calculates net equity after the existing mortgage, and extends a bridge loan up to 80% LTV. Monthly payments are typically interest-only during the 1–24 month bridge term. When the departing home sells, the sale proceeds pay off the bridge loan, leaving you with a single mortgage on your new home. Typical California closings run 10–14 days.

Usually up to 80% of your current home's value, minus your existing mortgage. For example, a $1,400,000 home with a $450,000 mortgage could support a bridge loan of about $670,000. With enough equity, we can also cross-collateralize both homes and finance up to 100% of your new purchase. Final amounts are set case by case.

Typically 10–14 days, compared with 30–45 days for a HELOC. That speed lets you make a non-contingent offer in competitive markets.

Yes, but they're interest-only: each month you pay just the interest on the bridge balance while you own both homes. The balance is paid off from your current home's sale, with no prepayment penalty.

Most bridge programs require at least 20–30% equity in your departing California home after the existing mortgage. The bridge is then sized so your existing mortgage plus the bridge stays at or below 80% of the home's appraised value. For example, a home worth $1,200,000 with a $500,000 mortgage has $700,000 of net equity — enough to support a bridge loan up to roughly $460,000 (80% of value minus the existing balance). Higher-value California properties often support meaningfully larger bridges than comparable homes in other states. We calculate this precisely during pre-qualification.

Most bridge loans include extension options, and we work with California borrowers proactively if the sale timeline runs long. The goal is always to get you to permanent financing — whether through sale proceeds or a long-term refinance on the new property. Extension fees are typically modest compared to the cost of letting a deal fall through or being forced into a rushed sale.

Yes — and cross-state CA/OR moves are one of the most common bridge scenarios we handle. Lumen Mortgage is licensed in both California and Oregon, so we can coordinate the bridge financing on your departing property and the purchase loan on your new home across state lines from a single lender relationship. The process works the same regardless of direction.

Yes. Bridge loans are particularly useful in California's jumbo price territory, where down payments alone can exceed $500,000 — and the equity in a mid-priced Bay Area or coastal home often comfortably supports that bridge amount. Our bridge program funds up to $5,000,000, and we work with multiple lenders to find the right program for high-value California properties.

Bridge loan terms vary by lender and are structured case by case. Bridge rates run higher than a 30-year fixed mortgage, but for most borrowers who only need the funds for 1–24 months, the best structure is a higher rate with lower upfront fees — because you're paying interest for a short time, cutting fees usually saves more than chasing the lowest rate. There's no prepayment penalty, so you can pay the bridge off as soon as your home sells.

Yes — and that's how most bridge scenarios work. During the bridge period you'll temporarily carry: (1) the existing mortgage on your departing California home, (2) the interest-only bridge loan, and (3) the new mortgage on your purchase. Lenders evaluate your ability to carry all three during the bridge window. Once the departing home sells, the first two are retired and you're left with a single mortgage on the new property.

A HELOC is a revolving line of credit against your current home that you control and draw from over time — useful for ongoing equity access but slower to set up (30–45 days) and often capped below what you'd need for a full California-sized down payment. A bridge loan is a short-term, lump-sum loan specifically structured to fund the gap between buying and selling. It closes in 10–14 days, provides full purchase capital upfront, and is designed to be retired when the current home sells.

They overlap but serve different borrowers. A bridge loan is a short-term mortgage that uses the equity in your departing California home to buy your next one before you sell — it's built for equity-rich owner-occupants and typically structured with a higher rate and lower fees for a short hold. A hard money loan is asset-based lending that qualifies primarily on the property's value and is aimed at investors, fix-and-flip projects, and deals that fall outside standard guidelines; it usually carries higher rates and shorter terms. If your goal is to buy a home to live in before selling your current one, a bridge loan is almost always the better fit. If you're financing an investment or as-is property on speed and collateral alone, hard money may be the right tool — we offer both across California.