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Broker guide

Bank of Melbourne Bridging Loans for Brokers 2026

Check Bank of Melbourne bridging availability, peak debt, sale timing and exit evidence against current lender sources before preparing a broker scenario.

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Updated

Bank of Melbourne’s bridging loan is its Relocation Loan, which lets eligible owner-occupiers buy before selling through a facility of up to 12 months. Brokers can use Bank of Melbourne’s broker channel, with end-debt servicing where applicable. The temporary borrowing still needs an approved security structure and sale exit.

Bank of Melbourne Bridging Availability and Channel

Bank of Melbourne markets the Relocation Loan to next-home buyers and includes relocation applications in its specialist broker assessment category. Its broker website provides BrokerHub access for policy and applications. For a credit scenario, call 1300 137 532 and select option 1, then option 5.

The lender is Bank of Melbourne, a division of Westpac Banking Corporation. Keep that brand and the Relocation Loan product on the scenario, approval and offer. Shared ownership or a group login doesn’t make St.George, BankSA or Westpac product conditions transferable to this file.

Use the Bank of Melbourne broker portal guide for access and support routing. For the wider purchase-before-sale mechanism, see the bridging loan guide.

Bank of Melbourne Borrower, Security and Sale Fit

Bank of Melbourne’s Relocation Loan is for owner-occupiers over 18 who are Australian citizens or permanent residents. New and existing customers can apply, including buyers of vacant land using a building contractor. Investment purchases, debt consolidation and residential lending originated under family or company trusts are excluded.

The published rate illustration uses a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) up to 70%. Obtain the approved exposure calculation for the actual securities before treating that illustration as a lending limit.

Prepare a property-by-property schedule for the lender’s written decision. Record the title owners, property type, location, occupancy and all mortgages or guarantees secured against each property. Include the purchase contract, existing payout and available cash, then deduct selling expenses from the realistic sale estimate.

Resolve these transaction conditions with the assessor before relying on purchase funding:

  • Accepted income sources and the evidence supporting them for remaining-debt servicing.
  • Acceptance of both properties and the required lender valuations and security interests.
  • Refinancing of the existing mortgage and release of any other secured facilities.
  • The valuation basis, sale-value allowance and maximum exposure, including capitalised charges.
  • The sale timetable and evidence of marketability the client must meet.

An agent’s sale appraisal helps prepare the scenario. The lender’s accepted values and credit decision determine the facility. Broader preparation belongs in the bridging loan eligibility guide.

Peak Debt, End Debt and Repayment Assessment

Bank of Melbourne’s broker material describes Relocation interest-capitalised finance, with servicing assessed on end debt where applicable. End debt is the borrowing left after sale proceeds reduce the facility. Peak debt is the larger exposure before that sale, including any charges added to the loan.

The broker product and policy guide supports end-debt servicing. This doesn’t remove the need to approve peak exposure or the sale assumptions.

Fictional Purchase and Sale Example

These are fictional entered assumptions, not Bank of Melbourne valuations, quoted charges or an approval. Assume the old mortgage is paid out as part of the new funding and the sale settles after six months.

Transaction itemFictional amountTreatment
Existing mortgage payout$240,000Include once in total funding
New home purchase$850,000Full purchase price
Purchase costs$40,000Include duty and legal costs
Cash contribution$100,000Deduct from funding needed
Opening peak borrowing$1,030,000$240,000 + $850,000 + $40,000 - $100,000
Assumed capitalised interest and fees$40,000Allowance through the expected sale
Projected debt at sale$1,070,000Opening debt plus the allowance
Gross sale price$1,000,000Fictional existing-home sale
Selling costs$25,000Deduct from gross proceeds
Sale proceeds available for debt$975,000Before repaying the facility
Projected end debt$95,000$1,070,000 - $975,000

Don’t subtract the $240,000 old mortgage again from the sale proceeds: the opening funding already pays it out. If that mortgage stays separately secured, rebuild the schedule around the lender’s actual payout structure.

For this fictional file, $95,000 is the projected end debt for the servicing discussion. The lender must approve the borrowing before sale and determine the accepted remaining balance.

Capitalised Interest and Nil End Debt

Bank of Melbourne specifies no required repayments during the bridging period and adds interest to the debt. Deferring repayments therefore increases the amount the sale must clear. Optional extra repayments can’t be redrawn, and the product doesn’t permit a loan increase.

Capitalised interest differs from interest paid from the client’s cash. Record any planned voluntary payments separately, and retain the cash needed for living and property expenses.

The product also permits nil end debt for downsizing when the sale clears all borrowing, interest and fees. Where debt remains, it is repaid through a standard home loan with its own terms. Have the lender confirm that structure for the client’s expected sale result.

Prepare the Evidence and Linked Settlements

Use Bank of Melbourne’s minimum required documents checklist for the broker submission. Match its income pathway to the client instead of applying a general consumer checklist to every file.

The checklist requires application notes, signed privacy consents and identity verification. Remove tax file numbers from documents. For base employed income, it accepts two consecutive non-year-to-date payslips or a year-to-date payslip covering two pay cycles, subject to its age limits.

Casual and variable income have separate evidence requirements.

Self-employed pathways require the corresponding tax and financial records. Include existing liabilities and ongoing expenses, plus the signed purchase contract and title details. Victorian purchases require a fully executed contract.

Add the transaction evidence needed to reconcile purchase funding and the sale exit:

  • Savings statements and deposit receipts showing the client’s contribution.
  • Existing mortgage details, a current payout and every other liability secured against the selling property.
  • The agent’s appraisal, marketing plan and proposed sale timetable, followed by the signed sale contract when available.
  • The lender’s accepted valuations and written instructions for sale proceeds and security release.
  • A funding schedule showing purchase costs, the interest allowance and remaining debt.

Bank of Melbourne’s application checklist covers savings and purchase evidence and says the bank arranges a valuation when required. Agree the relocation-specific sale documents with the assessor for the proposed exit.

Follow the Funding Through Both Settlements

  1. Send the complete scenario to the lender’s credit team. Record the product, security structure, assessed debt and sale conditions in its response.
  2. Resolve any conditional approval requirements. The assessor confirms the credit decision, and the broker checks that it covers the purchase and proposed sale exit.
  3. Before purchase settlement, have the lender’s settlement team and conveyancer confirm funds, contributions and required existing payouts. Match these to the signed loan documents.
  4. Arrange the sale security release using the lender’s broker forms. The conveyancer and lender confirm settlement proceeds and the amount allocated to debt.
  5. After sale settlement, reconcile the lender’s disbursement and account balances. Obtain confirmation of the remaining home loan and repayment schedule, or full repayment and discharge for a nil-end-debt file.

Bank of Melbourne’s broker contact page identifies support for approvals, settlement bookings, payouts and disbursements. A scenario discussion alone doesn’t authorise a purchase settlement.

Keep the lender response with the file notes. Bulma quotes lender policy wording behind its answers, which helps you retain the policy supporting the scenario discussion.

Costs, a Delayed Sale and an Unavailable Product

Budget for variable interest added to the relocation debt, plus establishment, document processing, monthly account and discharge fees. The lender’s loan-account fee schedule also identifies possible valuation charges. Add property transaction costs and the separate charges for any remaining home loan.

Use the actual offer’s rate and interest-charging terms in the funding schedule. The fictional $40,000 allowance above isn’t a lender quote or a daily-interest calculation.

A lower sale result increases end debt dollar for dollar if other inputs stay unchanged. In the fictional transaction, a $925,000 gross sale with $25,000 selling costs leaves $900,000 for debt. Projected end debt rises from $95,000 to $170,000.

Now assume the sale settles after nine months and adds another fictional $20,000 in capitalised charges. Projected end debt becomes $190,000 when combined with that lower sale result. Test that balance against servicing and the approved exposure, then recalculate using actual interest and fee terms.

The product generally requires repayment within 12 months. Any extension depends on credit criteria. Before the agreed term or limit expires, give the lender updated sale evidence and request its written decision on timing, exposure and repayments.

For broader calculations, the bridging loan cost guide compares sale-delay assumptions. Keep this file’s stress test tied to the Bank of Melbourne offer.

Bank of Melbourne currently markets relocation finance. If it declines this transaction or your required channel can’t offer it, reassess the funding sequence before the client commits. Selling first establishes the proceeds available, while changed purchase and sale settlement timing can reduce the overlap.

Bank of Melbourne’s next-home options include portability where the transaction fits. Another funding route needs its own confirmed product availability, security assessment and repayment test. Proceed only with a structure that covers the client’s purchase settlement and documented sale exit.

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