Self-employed borrowers have more than one way to finance a home purchase before selling their existing property. Bridgit, MA Money, Brighten, ORDE, Assetline Capital and La Trobe Financial publish alternative-documentation bridging options. Banks also offer bridging finance, although their ordinary self-employed home-loan policies should not be assumed to apply to a bridging application.
The useful comparison starts with what happens after your existing home sells. Will the proceeds repay everything, or will you still have a mortgage? That answer affects the income evidence, repayments and exit plan a lender needs to assess.
This guide compares selected Australian residential buy-before-sale options. It is not an exhaustive market list, a lender ranking or confirmation that Flexdoc can access every product. Published features remain subject to the lender accepting the borrower, properties and complete transaction.
How bridging finance works
ASIC Moneysmart describes bridging finance as short-term funding for the gap between buying a property and selling an existing one. The lender needs to understand the period when you own both properties and how the debt will be reduced.
- Peak debt: the total borrowing while both properties are held, including any financed costs and interest budget.
- End debt: the borrowing expected to remain after the sale proceeds have been applied.
- No end debt: the proposed sale and other available funds are expected to clear the entire facility.
Ask for the calculation to show the existing mortgage, new purchase, buying and selling costs, your cash contribution and how interest is funded. Use the net amount available from the sale, not simply the expected sale price, and avoid counting the existing mortgage repayment twice.
A lower sale price can leave more debt than planned. A later sale can mean more interest and less time to complete the exit. Have both outcomes tested before relying on a bridging approval.
Which lenders publish alt-doc bridging options?
These six providers explicitly connect alternative income documentation with bridging. The documents below are a starting point, not the complete application requirements.
| Lender | Published income route | What makes the choice different |
|---|---|---|
| Bridgit | Self-employed applicants can use alternative verification. Its eligibility page lists an ABN held for at least 24 months and an accountant declaration, six months of BAS or six months of business bank statements as alternatives to tax returns. | Distinguish a sale that clears all debt from an application leaving an ongoing mortgage. Confirm the approved exit and whether the remaining debt can stay with Bridgit or needs another lender. Its property eligibility excludes vacant land, construction and owner-builder properties. |
| MA Money | Alt Doc requires a financial-position declaration plus an accountant letter, the latest two BAS or six months of business bank statements. Full Doc and a separate simplified company-director route are also published. | Published bridging terms are 6–12 months, with capitalised interest available. Prime requires more than 24 months of ABN history and more than 12 months of GST history. Near Prime requires more than 12 months of ABN history and more than six months of GST history. The product tier, property and end-debt assessment still matter. |
| Brighten | Its Boss Prime Alt Doc pathway lists a borrower income declaration plus Brighten’s template accountant’s letter, six months of BAS or three months of business bank statements. It publishes a two-year ABN requirement and 12 months of GST registration where turnover exceeds $75,000. | Provides no-end-debt and end-debt structures. During the bridge, an interest budget funds interest; principal-and-interest repayments apply to the end debt. Confirm the current product guide for the proposed loan size and location rather than combining the largest loan headline with the highest LVR. |
| ORDE | Explicitly offers Full Doc and Alt Doc for end-debt servicing. Its public page also describes no income documents for a no-end-debt case; this is a specific sale-based structure, not a general no-assessment home loan. | Publishes 12 months for an uncontracted sale and 6–12 months for a contracted sale. Interest is met from a funded budget during bridging. Vacant land as security may be considered, unlike Bridgit, but location and security conditions apply. |
| Assetline Capital | Publishes a specific Alt Doc checklist for applications with end debt, alongside Full Doc requirements. The accepted combination of declarations and alternative income records needs to be confirmed for the application. | Offers end-debt and no-end-debt structures, with capitalised or prepaid interest. Loan limits and available terms depend on location and LVR. Where debt remains, the proposed refinance must be assessed as a credible exit; an extension or ongoing loan should not be assumed. |
| La Trobe Financial | Lite Doc requires a borrower repayment declaration plus an accountant’s letter, BAS or trading statements. The public table does not specify the required BAS or trading-statement period, so obtain that detail for the application. | Publishes purchase and construction purposes, with an interest-budget period of up to two years. Its residential bridging TMD requires income serviceability testing on expected residual debt. A construction proposal needs construction-specific assessment; the longer maximum period is not an automatic entitlement. |
The number of months of income evidence is separate from the lender’s required business, ABN or GST history. Six months of BAS does not necessarily mean a six-month-old business qualifies. For that distinction, see our short-ABN home-loan guide. Its general home-loan examples do not establish bridging eligibility.
What about banks and other bridging lenders?
If you can provide tax returns and financial statements, include bank bridging options in the comparison. The providers below publish bridging products, but the sources reviewed do not establish that an accountant’s letter or BAS alone will satisfy their bridging income assessment. Confirm the exact self-employed documents and serviceability calculation before treating one as an option.
| Lender or product | Published structure | Important question for a self-employed borrower |
|---|---|---|
| CommBank | Bridging for up to 12 months. Its current guide allows qualifying new customers with at least $250,000 of post-bridging debt, as well as existing customers. | Applicants must demonstrate capacity for interest-only repayments on total debt during bridging. Do not assume interest will simply be added to the loan. Confirm the income pack, existing mortgage arrangements and any no-end-debt exception. |
| ANZ | Up to 12 months from the new-home settlement. New customers must refinance their current home to ANZ first. | Budget for interest-only bridging repayments and the ongoing loan repayments. Its guide says you must afford the commitments while both properties are held. Confirm the self-employed evidence and any savings required. |
| Westpac and the St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA relocation products | Each publishes an owner-occupier option for up to 12 months, with capitalised bridging interest and no required bridge repayments. New and existing customers may apply. Their pages exclude investment purchases and borrowing through family or company trusts. | Confirm the exact brand’s self-employed documents, existing mortgage treatment and servicing calculation. Westpac’s public material uses different peak-debt and end-debt assessment descriptions; do not assume one calculation applies across these brands. |
| NAB FlexiPlus Mortgage | A published bridging option for up to 12 months. Its TMD limits total credit to 80% of the combined home values. | Interest is payable monthly and the TMD requires income sufficient for regular interest-only repayments. Confirm the self-employed assessment and whether the existing loan must move. This is not presented as repayment-free bridging. |
| Bankwest Simple Bridging Home Loan | Usually up to six months, with a longer agreed period or extension contemplated by its TMD. The existing home loan must already be with Bankwest or be refinanced there. Available with its Simple Home Loan. | The TMD permits either monthly interest-only payments or capitalised interest. Confirm which is approved, the ongoing repayment commitment and the income evidence. Do not assume a longer period will be granted. |
| Bendigo Bank | Up to six months for an established property or 12 months for construction. Interest is capitalised. Published material supports owner-occupied and residential investment purposes. | Confirm the end-debt assessment and self-employed records. Its current linked TMD lists direct-bank distribution channels, so treat it as a direct-bank alternative rather than a promise of access through Flexdoc. |
| IMB Bank | Owner-occupied personal borrowing only, not investment or business purposes. Up to six months on its Standard Variable Loan. Publishes a 75% combined LVR limit during bridging, including capitalised interest, and an 80% limit for the remaining loan. | No repayments are required on the bridge, but minimum payments continue on an existing IMB loan secured by the departing property. Confirm the complete repayment burden and self-employed assessment. |
| Bank Australia | Up to 12 months, with capitalised interest. Its broker material assesses capacity on the residual debt and requires security over the property being sold. | Its broker channel requires residual debt, although the consumer page also describes loans repaid in full after sale. Its broker sheet also excludes investment-to-investment bridging. Confirm the application channel and income requirements, especially when you expect no ongoing mortgage. |
| Firstmac and loans.com.au | These are non-bank alternatives. Current sources describe an owner-occupied purchase, up to 12 months of bridging and capitalised interest. Firstmac’s TMD addresses refinancing the existing mortgage or using an unencumbered property as additional security. | Confirm the ongoing loan and income documentation. Firstmac’s separate Alt Doc launch does not establish Alt Doc availability for bridging. loans.com.au’s standard self-employed pathway refers to tax returns and financials; its bridging eligibility still needs checking. |
Will you need to move your existing mortgage?
Do not assume you can keep a low-rate mortgage with one lender and place an unrestricted bridging loan beside it. The existing mortgage, who holds security over each property and how sale proceeds discharge the debt all need to fit the proposed lender’s structure.
Bridgit, for example, says it refinances the existing mortgage into its loan. Ask whether your proposed lender requires the same, whether both properties must secure the facility and whether any current fixed-rate loan will incur a break cost. Include discharge, legal and valuation costs as well as the new loan’s fees. An existing-customer restriction can remove an option even when the income requirements look workable.
Have the ongoing mortgage arranged as part of the exit assessment. A plan to refinance after the sale depends on another lender’s approval unless the ongoing loan is already approved under the bridging arrangement.
Does capitalised interest mean there are no repayments?
Some products fund interest from an approved budget within the loan. Others require you to make repayments while both properties are held. The comparison tables show why a single rule does not work across lenders.
Where interest is borrowed or added to the debt, it is still a cost. Ask how the budget is calculated, whether interest is charged on capitalised interest, what is payable if the property sells early and what happens if the budget runs out. A “no repayments during bridging” feature does not remove assessment of the sale or any remaining mortgage.
Where an ongoing loan remains, confirm its repayment type, rate, term and expected repayment separately. Do not compare only the short-term bridging rate while ignoring the loan you may keep for years.
How much equity and time do you need?
The lender assesses its accepted property values and the debt secured against them. A headline maximum LVR may depend on location, property type, loan size and whether the sale is already under contract. Ask whether the limit includes all financed fees and interest, and whether a separate limit applies to the end debt.
Get the sale deadline in writing. Check whether an unconditional sale contract is needed at application, whether the property must be marketed by a particular date and whether settlement must occur before the bridging term ends. Do not plan around an extension unless it has actually been approved.
If selling first, arranging a longer purchase settlement or negotiating aligned settlements is practical, compare that with the full cost and risk of bridging. Your solicitor or conveyancer should advise on the contracts and timing.
Compare the whole cost, not a headline rate
Request a written comparison using the same purchase price, existing debt, expected sale proceeds and assumed sale date. Include establishment or application fees, valuations, legal costs, existing-loan exit costs, ongoing charges, minimum-interest provisions and any early-repayment or extension charges that apply.
Check whether the bridging rate steps up before the term ends. Ask for a second calculation with a delayed sale and a lower sale price. That shows how much extra cash or end debt may be needed. An unpublished fee should remain an open question rather than be treated as zero.
We have not ranked rates here. Lenders can price the bridging period and the ongoing loan differently, and advertised comparison rates may use a loan size and term very different from your transaction.
Residential bridging is different from business-purpose lending
This guide concerns financing a residential purchase before a sale. A self-employed person buying a home to live in should not assume the loan becomes business-purpose credit because their income comes from a business.
ASIC explains that consumer-credit coverage depends on factors including the borrower and the purpose of the credit. A residential property offered as security does not, by itself, establish the protections applying to the loan. Private business-purpose bridging products should not be treated as interchangeable with a regulated home-loan proposal. Get advice on the actual structure and do not sign a purpose declaration that misstates how the money will be used.
Which option should you investigate first?
- Current financials and enough cash flow for repayments during the bridge: compare bank options alongside specialist lenders.
- Alternative income evidence and an ongoing mortgage after sale: investigate a documented Alt Doc bridging route and have the end debt assessed from the outset.
- Sale proceeds expected to clear all debt: ask about a specific no-end-debt structure. The lender still needs to accept the property, sale assumptions, costs and exit.
- Construction, acreage or unusual security: check property acceptance before focusing on the income documents. Published lender approaches differ.
Bring your current mortgage statement, available income records, estimated property values, purchase budget and expected sale timing. Our self-employed home-loan checklist can help organise the evidence.
Flexdoc can discuss residential lending options for the proposed move. Book a conversation before making a purchase commitment that depends on finance.
General information only, not personal credit, financial, tax or legal advice. Product availability and lender criteria can change. Published features are not an approval, a promise of refinancing or confirmation of access through Flexdoc. Obtain advice appropriate to your circumstances.