A buyer typically takes out a bridge loan so they can buy another home before they sell their existing residence, to raise the cash for a down payment.
How Bridge Loans Work
To get a bridge loan, you’ll have to apply for it with a lender. Not all lenders have set guidelines for minimum FICO scores or debt-to-income ratios for bridge loans. Funding is guided by more of a “Does it make sense?” underwriting approach. The piece of the puzzle that requires guidelines is the long-term financing obtained on the new home. Some lenders that make conforming loans exclude the bridge loan payment for qualifying purposes. The borrower is qualified to buy the move-up home by adding together the existing mortgage payment, if any, on their existing home to the new mortgage payment on the move-up home. Many lenders qualify the buyer on two payments because most buyers have existing first mortgages on their present homes. The buyer will likely close on the move-up home purchase before selling an existing residence, so they will own two homes, but hopefully only for a short period of time.
Pros and Cons of Bridge Loans
Pros Explained
A homebuyer can purchase a new home and put their existing home on the market with no restrictions: You can immediately use the equity in your existing house to buy a new home, without having to wait until the old home sells, when you use a bridge loan for a real estate transaction. You might gain a few months free of payments: Bridge loans offer homeowners the flexibility of paying when they have the cash flow, at least for a period of time. Under certain circumstances, you can still buy a new home even after removing the contingency to sell: A buyer can also remove the contingency to sell from their offer contract and still move forward with the purchase if they’ve made a contingent offer to buy, and the seller issues a notice to perform.
Cons Explained
A bridge loan is typically more expensive than a home equity loan: You might end up paying higher interest costs on a bridge loan than you would on a home equity loan. Typically, the rate will be about 2% higher than that for a 30-year, standard fixed-rate mortgage. You must be able to qualify to own two homes: Not everyone can qualify for two mortgages at once, which means a bridge loan may not be an option for some. Handling two mortgages at once, plus the bridge loan, can be stressful: Some people feel stressed when they have to make two mortgage payments while they’re accruing interest on a bridge loan. It can be even more stressful if the home they’re trying to sell isn’t getting any offers.
Average Fees for Bridge Loans
Terms vary among lenders and locations, and interest rates can fluctuate as well. For example, a bridge loan might carry no payments for the first four months, but interest will accrue and come due when the loan is paid upon sale of the property. There are also varying rates for different types of fees. The administration fee might be 8.5%, and the appraisal fee might be 4.75% on a $10,000 loan. Certain fees will be charged at a higher rate than others. Bridge loan fee examples based on a $10,000 loan include:
Administration fee: $850 Appraisal fee: $475 Escrow fee: $450 Title policy fee: $450+ Wiring fees: $75 Notary fee: $40
There’s typically a loan-origination fee on bridge loans as well. The cost is based on the amount of the loan, with each point of the origination fee equal to 1% of the loan amount. Generally, a home equity loan is less expensive than a bridge loan, but bridge loans offer more benefits for some borrowers. And many lenders won’t lend on a home equity loan if the home is on the market.
Alternatives to Bridge Loans
You can fund a down payment for the move-up home in one of two ways if you don’t have the cash for a down payment, and your existing home hasn’t sold yet. You can finance a bridge loan, or you can take out a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit. In either case, it might be safer and make more financial sense to wait to sell your existing home first before buying your next home. Ask yourself what your next step will be if your existing home doesn’t sell for quite some time. You could be financially supporting two residences for the duration. The main advantage of a bridge loan is that it allows you to avoid a contingent offer along the lines of, “I’ll buy your home if my home sells.” But this is generally only advisable if you’re sure your home will sell, or if you have a plan in place in case it doesn’t.
