Broker guide
Firstmac Bridging Loans for Brokers 2026
Buying before a sale with Firstmac? Work through bridging eligibility, peak and end debt, sale evidence and fees for your client’s scenario.
- Published
- Updated
A Firstmac bridging loan funds a replacement owner-occupied home before your client sells their existing property, with up to 12 months for the sale. Monthly interest is added to the loan, and repayments aren’t required during the bridge. Firstmac can assess repayment capacity on the debt remaining after the sale, where applicable.
For a broker, the deal turns on the proposed sale proceeds and the loan your client can afford afterwards. Calculate both the highest debt during the overlap and the balance after sale costs before committing to the purchase.
Firstmac Bridging Availability and Channel
Accredited brokers can arrange a Firstmac bridging home loan directly or through an accredited aggregator. The Bridging Home Loan target market determination also lists direct retail distribution.
The product is for buying a home the client will occupy while an existing property is sold. Firstmac takes the new home and the sale property as security. An existing mortgage is refinanced simultaneously with the purchase, or an unencumbered property supplies the additional security.
Keep a Firstmac broker application separate from a white-label product distributed under another brand. A Firstmac-funded loan can carry different branded terms. Use the documents for the product being offered, including its repayment schedule and fees.
Start through Firstmac Broker Tools for the broker resources and scenario tools. Your Firstmac business development manager (BDM) can address a product or security exception. The Firstmac broker portal guide explains the access and support route.
Peak Debt, End Debt and Repayment Tests
Peak debt includes the purchase funding, the existing mortgage payout and costs added to the loan, including capitalised interest. End debt is what remains after the sale proceeds reduce that balance. A strong sale estimate doesn’t remove the need to allow for interest while both properties are held.
Firstmac’s redesigned bridging product permits end-debt servicing where applicable. Its Bridging Tool structures the borrowing and calculates end debt. Its separate Bridging Servicing Calculator assesses repayment capacity.
Hypothetical Purchase and Sale Calculation
These figures illustrate the arithmetic only. The $45,000 finance-cost allowance is an assumption covering capitalised interest and fees, not a Firstmac quote or calculator result. Assume the debt reaches its highest point just before the sale settles.
| Calculation item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Existing mortgage payout | $300,000 |
| New home purchase funding | $900,000 |
| Purchase transaction costs financed | $45,000 |
| Less client cash contribution | -$100,000 |
| Initial funding before finance costs | $1,145,000 |
| Assumed capitalised interest and fees | $45,000 |
| Illustrative peak debt | $1,190,000 |
| Existing property’s sale price | $800,000 |
| Less selling costs | -$25,000 |
| Net sale proceeds applied to debt | $775,000 |
| Illustrative end debt | $415,000 |
The $300,000 mortgage is already included in the peak debt. Deducting it again from the $775,000 sale proceeds would count the payout twice.
Firstmac publishes a maximum loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of 80%, with sub-limits for security location, type or repayment arrangements. Run the combined-security and retained-security positions through its tools. The same end debt can produce a different LVR when the retained home’s valuation changes.
For repayment capacity, enter the proposed remaining term and the client’s verified income, expenses and commitments in the servicing calculator. A nil-end-debt scenario has no ongoing home-loan balance to service after sale. It still needs an acceptable security position and enough net proceeds to clear the actual payout, including charges accrued before settlement.
Security, Income and Sale Evidence
Build the application around both securities and an exit the client can carry out within the agreed bridge. Firstmac’s residential policy describes valuations of both properties at origination. Order valuations through the lender’s process so the assessment uses acceptable values.
Firstmac’s product announcement expands eligibility to Category 2 postcodes. Match each property’s address and type against the applicable postcode and security rules before relying on that expansion. A category label alone doesn’t establish acceptance of a particular property.
Collect the following evidence for the file:
- The purchase contract, available cash and a current payout for any mortgage being refinanced.
- Income documents appropriate to the client’s employment or business, plus living expenses and all ongoing liabilities.
- The sale property’s valuation and the selling agent’s appraisal, with comparable sales supporting the expected price.
- The agency agreement or listing evidence, marketing timetable and expected sale settlement period.
- Estimated selling costs and any other amounts that reduce the proceeds available to repay the bridge.
- A signed sale contract when available, including conditions that could delay or prevent settlement.
Firstmac’s target market requires acceptable credit and evidence of repayment capacity. Explain adverse credit or unusual income before treating the scenario as ready to lodge. The debt left after the sale must remain affordable over the proposed remaining term.
Give the sale plan actual milestones, such as listing before purchase settlement and reviewing the asking price after the initial marketing period. Allow time for the buyer’s finance and sale settlement. A hoped-for sale price without a workable timetable leaves the repayment source uncertain.
Interest, Fees and an Extended Sale
Capitalised interest increases the loan balance even when your client makes no repayments. Deferred repayments describe when cash payments fall due. An interest-free period means interest isn’t charged for that period, which is a different benefit.
Firstmac’s current bridge charges monthly interest to the loan during the bridging period. Its rate is fixed during that period. Model that treatment from settlement, without importing an interest-free offer from a different product or an older schedule.
Obtain a loan-specific written quote through the broker channel. Ask it to identify the bridging fee and its calculation base, settlement charges, valuation costs and government charges. Include discharge costs and any other contract charges when comparing the amount borrowed with the eventual payout.
Firstmac also advertises cash-out options. Separate any requested cash-out from purchase costs and explain its purpose in the scenario. Have the lender confirm the permitted amount and evidence before adding it to the funding calculation.
A Lower Price or Slower Sale
In the hypothetical example, a $750,000 sale with the same $25,000 selling costs leaves $725,000 to repay the loan. End debt rises from $415,000 to $465,000. That extra $50,000 changes the remaining repayment and retained-property LVR.
A delay adds interest for the extra time. If the hypothetical debt accrued another $10,000 before sale, the lower-price scenario would leave $475,000, assuming no other changes. Use the quoted rate and actual balance progression for the client’s figures.
Firstmac’s target market excludes borrowers who need more than 12 months to sell. If marketing results threaten the agreed exit, contact Firstmac before the term expires with updated price evidence and a revised repayment plan. An extension needs lender agreement, so the client needs a fallback that doesn’t depend on one being granted.
Application Through to the Sale Exit
Take the scenario from confirmed product fit to a reconciled sale payout in this order:
- Confirm the purchase purpose, both securities and sale timetable with Firstmac. Establish whether end-debt assessment applies and obtain the fee quote.
- Gather the evidence and run both official bridging tools. Save the inputs and results, then model a lower sale price and a longer sale period.
- Lodge the application and resolve valuation, credit and servicing conditions. Before the client relies on finance, confirm formal approval and all outstanding settlement requirements.
- Coordinate purchase settlement with the refinance of the existing mortgage. Check that approved funds cover the purchase and costs after the client’s cash contribution.
- Monitor the sale against the agreed timetable. Once contracted, arrange the lender’s security release and a payout calculated for sale settlement.
- Apply the sale proceeds and reconcile the remaining balance. Check that any continuing loan moves to the agreed standard home loan with the correct rate, repayment and remaining term.
For a nil-end-debt exit, obtain confirmation that the sale payment clears the loan and completes the required releases. For a continuing loan, the first repayment notice must match the final balance and agreed terms.
If the property, purchase purpose or repayment test doesn’t fit, change the sequence before your client commits. Selling first can establish the available equity, followed by a standard purchase loan if needed. Negotiating compatible settlement periods can reduce the overlap, while a building proposal needs the separate Firstmac construction loan assessment.
Choose an alternative lender only after checking its own security and repayment rules against the client’s revised numbers. The decision must work with a realistic sale outcome and the repayments that remain afterwards.
