Bridging Loan Eligibility: Broker Assessment Guide

Bridging loan eligibility depends on whether the client’s property equity, borrowing capacity and sale proceeds support buying before selling. You need a credible repayment exit within the lender’s term and enough funds to complete the purchase. Existing home ownership alone doesn’t establish eligibility.

A client can qualify while self-employed, retired or buying an investment property, depending on the lender’s evidence rules. Assess the linked transaction first, then match the borrower’s circumstances to a lender that accepts them.

Screen the Linked Transaction and Exit

Screen the purchase and sale together, because the sale must repay the temporary borrowing or leave an affordable ongoing loan. Record the purchase price and settlement date alongside the existing property’s debt, ownership and expected sale proceeds.

Ask when the existing property will be listed, whether a sale contract exists and what could delay settlement. Record the requested bridge term and the exact repayment event. An expected inheritance or an unassessed future refinance needs its own evidence before it can support an exit.

As at October 2026, Westpac’s bridging loan has a term of up to 12 months and accepts owner-occupier purchases. Its product excludes investment-property purchases and residential lending through family or company trusts. These are Westpac conditions, not market-wide restrictions.

A plan to keep both homes indefinitely doesn’t have a property-sale exit. Assess it as ongoing borrowing instead. Where selling is necessary but the client won’t commit to a sale, the proposed bridge doesn’t establish a workable repayment plan.

Route business-purpose borrowing and commercial-property transactions to the business bridging finance guide. For residential loan structures beyond the eligibility assessment, use the bridging loan requirements guide.

Check Deposit, Equity and Security

Check both the cash needed before settlement and the equity available to secure the loan. A purchase-contract deposit and the contribution required by a lender can be different amounts, due at different times.

Cash savings can pay the contract deposit immediately. Existing equity supports borrowing only after the lender accepts the security and approves access to it. Expected sale proceeds arrive at sale settlement, so they can’t fund an earlier deposit without an approved arrangement.

As at October 2026, Westpac’s next-home finance guide restricts bridging borrowing to 80% of combined property values. It separately describes a 5% to 10% purchase deposit that needs savings when the existing home hasn’t sold. Don’t turn that example into a universal cash-deposit rule.

Calculate the loan-to-value ratio (LVR) by dividing the secured debt by the lender-accepted security value. Include existing mortgages that remain against the properties. An agent’s appraisal helps explain the proposed sale price, but it isn’t the lender’s accepted valuation.

Prepare a funds-to-complete schedule with these separate amounts.

• The purchase price, less any deposit already paid.
• Transfer duty, conveyancing and other purchase costs.
• Existing debt that must be refinanced or discharged.
• Interest and fees being funded through the loan.
• Available cash, with its source and availability date.
• The approved advance and any remaining cash shortfall.

Keep the deposit already paid within the total purchase contribution. Counting it again as unused cash overstates the funds available at settlement. Strong equity doesn’t fix a deposit that falls due before funds can be released.

Assess Peak Debt and Borrowing Capacity

Peak debt is the largest total debt during the overlap between buying and selling. Estimated end debt is the debt remaining after the sale money has been applied.

Start with existing debt, then add the purchase advance and financed transaction costs. Include the interest that will be added to the loan during the expected bridge period. Use the selected lender’s treatment of interest and property values in the final assessment.

Fictional Peak and End Debt Example

This simplified example assumes both properties are acceptable security. The existing home is valued at $1,000,000 with a $200,000 mortgage. The new home’s price and valuation are both $800,000.

The client contributes $100,000 cash towards the purchase and costs. An assumed $40,000 covers transaction costs and capitalised interest. These are illustrative inputs, not a lender quote or a complete cost calculation.

Assessment line	Amount
Existing debt refinanced into the combined position	$200,000
Purchase price	$800,000
Assumed costs and capitalised interest	$40,000
Cash contribution	-$100,000
Estimated peak debt	$940,000
Combined security value	$1,800,000
Estimated peak LVR	52.2%
Assumed sale price	$1,000,000
Assumed selling costs	-$30,000
Sale money available to reduce combined debt	$970,000
Estimated end debt	$0

Because the $200,000 mortgage is already included in peak debt, don’t deduct it again from the sale money in this combined-debt calculation. Here, $970,000 repays the $940,000 debt and leaves $30,000.

If the sale price were $900,000 with the same selling costs, only $870,000 would reduce the debt. End debt would be $70,000. The lender must then accept how that remaining debt will be repaid.

Test Repayments During and After the Bridge

Borrowing capacity depends on the repayment obligations the lender assesses, alongside income and household expenses. Include credit-card limits, personal loans, dependants and other property commitments. Record ongoing business debts and any income change expected before the sale.

As at October 2026, Westpac’s bridging product capitalises interest without required repayments during the bridging period. Its next-home guide still describes a peak-debt assessment. A repayment holiday doesn’t establish that the client passes servicing, which is the lender’s repayment-affordability test.

Bridgit’s broker explanation, as at October 2026, says it assesses full income where end debt remains and checks that the borrower can exit successfully. Bridgit’s explanation also describes credit-history checks and reduced property values in its assessment.

Use the bridging loan cost guide for the complete interest and fee calculation. Here, those costs belong in eligibility because they increase peak debt and reduce the sale money available for repayment.

Prepare Pre-Approval and Application Evidence

Prepare an application that lets the assessor follow every amount from its source document to the proposed loan and exit. A bridging pre-approval can establish an indicative borrowing position subject to conditions. It doesn’t finalise an unidentified property’s valuation or guarantee that a later sale will achieve the assumed price.

Collect the following evidence, then compare it with the chosen product’s document requirements.

Evidence	What it establishes
Identification and residency documents	Borrower identity and eligibility
Payslips, tax returns or accepted alternative income documents	Income the lender can count
Expense records and liability details	Household commitments and repayment capacity
Existing mortgage statements and payout information	Current balances, loan conduct and debt being discharged
Purchase contract	Price, deposit, conditions and settlement deadline
Lender-accepted valuations and title details	Security value, ownership and existing encumbrances
Sale contract or proposed sale evidence	Repayment amount, marketing plan and likely timing
Savings statements and contribution evidence	Cash source and funds available before settlement
Written exit calculation	Sale proceeds, selling costs and estimated end debt
Proposed ongoing loan evidence, where needed	How remaining debt will be financed and repaid

As at October 2026, La Trobe Financial’s bridging product lists two payslips or two years of financials and tax assessment notices for full-documentation assessment. Use that product-specific evidence requirement where it applies.

Before the client commits to a purchase, distinguish an indicative response, conditional approval and an executable loan offer. Record outstanding conditions and the approval’s expiry. Reassess when the purchase price, valuation, sale timing or borrower’s finances change.

Assess Scenario-Specific Eligibility

Scenario-specific eligibility depends on whether the chosen lender accepts the borrower, property and evidence route. Separate a documentation problem from a repayment problem. Alternative documents can establish income, but they can’t make an unaffordable end debt affordable.

Self-Employed and Low-Doc Borrowers

As at October 2026, Bridgit’s eligibility requirements accept self-employed applicants through full-documentation or alternative-documentation routes. Its Australian Business Number (ABN) requirement is at least 24 months of registration.

The page lists two years of personal and business tax returns. Its alternative-documentation options are an accountant declaration, six months of business activity statements (BAS) or six months of business bank statements.

A low-documentation (low-doc) application still needs the evidence accepted for that route. Identify whether the missing item is a tax return, current trading evidence or proof that income supports the remaining debt. Choose the documentation route that resolves that specific gap.

Retirees, Pensioners and Downsizers

Bridgit’s same eligibility page says retired downsizers don’t require income verification. The sale must still support the proposed borrowing and exit. Being retired or receiving a pension doesn’t establish eligibility by itself.

Calculate whether sale proceeds repay all borrowing, including funded interest and fees. If the downsizer retains debt, assess the income available after retirement and the proposed ongoing repayments. Allow for the client’s living costs after the move.

Upsizers and Investment Properties

Upsizers need an affordable end-debt position when buying a more expensive property leaves ongoing borrowing. A lower sale price can create end debt even where the original calculation showed none.

Bridgit’s eligibility page accepts owner-occupied and investment-property security. As at October 2026, Westpac’s bridging product excludes investment-property purchases. Identify separately which property is being sold and which is being bought before applying those rules.

Impaired Credit and No-Credit-Check Claims

Defaults and mortgage arrears can prevent a scenario from meeting a lender’s credit-history requirements. Bridgit’s eligibility page requires good credit history. A specialist route must also accept the actual loan purpose and repayment exit.

As at October 2026, Mango Credit and Mango Mortgages’ bad-credit bridging page describes property-backed lending for defaults and missed mortgage repayments. It says it doesn’t access credit files or require income verification. For consumer bridging, Mango Mortgages requires sale of the security property as the repayment strategy.

A no-credit-check product still assesses security and repayment. It doesn’t remove the need to establish existing debt, property equity and a workable exit. Where consumer responsible lending obligations apply, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) requires reasonable enquiries, financial verification and a not-unsuitable assessment.

Prepare the default amount and status, arrears balance, current payout figures and the cause of missed payments. Include evidence that explains the sale plan and any debt remaining afterwards. These details help establish whether clearing the existing debts leaves enough equity for the new borrowing.

A no-documentation claim can mean no payslips or tax returns under a particular assessment model. It doesn’t mean the purchase, title, security value and repayment exit go undocumented. Name the missing evidence and resolve it under the selected lender’s actual route.

Explain Timing, Approval and Next Steps

Approval timing depends on when the file becomes complete and when the valuation, credit assessment and legal work finish. A quick indicative response doesn’t mean funds will be available for a fixed settlement date.

Set milestones for document collection and valuations, then credit approval, loan documents and settlement booking. Keep sale settlement and discharge dependencies visible. If a valuation is below the assumed value, recalculate the security position before proceeding.

Compare the selected lender’s current product rules against the completed file. Record the policy version, accepted security, interest treatment and exit conditions. Where the scenario needs an exception, obtain a written response from the lender’s business development manager (BDM) or credit team before treating it as accepted.

Bulma’s Policy Advisor and Scenario Planner help you compare a bridging scenario against policies across 52+ lenders. Each answer quotes the policy wording, which you can retain with the application file. The lender’s assessment sets the final borrowing amount.

When eligibility isn’t established, change the fact that causes the shortfall. Reduce the purchase budget, increase available cash or sell first when the equity and exit don’t support buying first. If income evidence is incomplete, use an accepted alternative route or collect the missing documents.

Before presenting the client with an approval position, reconcile the purchase funds and repayment exit to the lender’s written conditions. State which conditions remain and who must resolve them before settlement.