Dominion Lending CentresPart of the DLCG, Canada's #1 mortgage originator · $84.5B in 2025.
Private · Bridge Financing

Bridge financing.

The money that makes the dates work — buy before you sell, close the gap, keep the rate. BC and Alberta, on your timeline.

Real estate runs on dates that refuse to cooperate: the perfect house lists before yours sells, the purchase closes Tuesday and the sale funds Friday, the rate hold dies a week early. Bridge financing exists to make timing a solvable problem instead of a lost deal — short money, sized to equity you already own, structured to vanish the moment the permanent pieces land. The craft is all in the exit: a bridge without a certain way out is just an expensive loan with a nicer name.

What we bridge

Every gap the calendar creates.

Purchase-before-sale

Close the new home before the old one sells — no sale-contingent offers in a competitive market.

Closing-date gaps

The purchase closes Tuesday, the sale closes Friday — the gap financed cleanly.

Down-payment bridges

Funds tied up in another asset or a pending sale, advanced against equity you already hold.

Rate-hold gaps

A rate hold expiring before the new mortgage funds — bridged so the pricing survives.

Construction gaps

The stretch between a final draw and the take-out mortgage — see also our construction pages.

Estate & settlement timing

Probate, buyouts, and settlements that must fund before the long-term financing can.

Lender comparison

Three ways to bridge.

Institutional bridge (your bank or new lender)
Best for: Firm sale in hand, short gap, clean file
Leverage: Sized to the equity in the sold property
Rate: Prime-plus pricing — the cheapest bridge money
Term: Days to a few months, tied to the firm sale date
Qualifying: Underwritten alongside the new mortgage approval

When the sale is firm and the dates simply don't line up, the new lender often bridges it as part of the main approval — cheap, clean, and invisible.

Private bridge (speed & flexibility)
Best for: No firm sale yet, unusual property, tight timeline, or a file banks won't bridge
Leverage: Up to ~75–80% LTV across the properties involved
Rate: Firsts roughly 4.5%–10%; seconds ~8%–11%; interest-only
Term: 6–24 months, open after a short closed period
Qualifying: Equity- and exit-based — the sale or refinance is the underwriting

The workhorse when conditions can't be met on bank timelines. Priced for speed; structured open so it disappears the day your sale closes.

Inter-alia / blanket structures
Best for: Using combined equity across two or more properties to fund the move
Leverage: One mortgage registered over multiple titles
Rate: Private pricing per the risk and position
Term: Short — released property by property as sales close
Qualifying: Combined-equity based

One loan, several properties: pulls the whole portfolio's equity into the purchase, then releases each title as it sells.

Rates and leverage are typical ranges for illustration — last reviewed July 2026. Estimate borrowing costs with the financing fee calculator.

Case Studies

Files like yours.

Case studies for this category are being added — check back soon. In the meantime, see how we structure real files on our case studies page.
Bridge financing FAQ

Common bridge questions.

How does buying before selling actually work?+

A bridge loan advances the equity trapped in your current home so the new purchase closes on time; when the old home sells, the proceeds pay the bridge out. With a firm sale, banks price it cheaply; without one, private capital does the same job with more flexibility and a defined exit window.

Do I need a firm sale to get a bridge?+

For a bank bridge, generally yes — the firm contract is the security. Private bridges don't require one: they lend on the equity and a realistic marketing plan, which is exactly what makes an unconditional offer possible in the first place.

How fast can a bridge close?+

Private bridges are the fastest instrument we place — days to a couple of weeks with an appraisal in hand, driven mostly by how quickly legal work and valuation come together. When a closing date is bearing down, tell us the date first and we work backwards.

What does a bridge cost?+

Institutional bridges run at prime-plus for their short life. Private bridges price like private mortgages — roughly 4.5%–10% on firsts and 8%–11% on seconds, interest-only, plus disclosed fees. On a 60-day gap, the absolute dollars are usually small next to the cost of losing the purchase.

What happens if my home doesn't sell in time?+

That's why every bridge we place is structured with runway: terms of 6–24 months rather than weeks, open prepayment so an early sale costs nothing, and a fallback exit (refinance or price adjustment) agreed before funding. The bridge that assumes a perfect sale is the one that becomes a problem.

Can a bridge cover the down payment on a pre-sale or assignment?+

Often, yes — equity in an existing property can be advanced to fund deposits or completions when cash is committed elsewhere. Pre-sale completions with changed qualifying are their own file; the bridge buys the time to place the permanent mortgage properly.

File preparation

Racing a closing date? Have these ready.

Talk to a specialist

Tell us the closing date. We work backwards.

The properties, the dates, and the equity — that's all a bridge needs to start. We'll tell you the same day whether the gap closes.