Peggy’s Cove, St. Margarets Bay
Buying before your sale closes
A bridge loan covers the days between the two closings. It is short, it is secured against the home you are selling, and it needs that sale to be firm.
What is bridge financing and when do I need it?
A bridge loan is a short-term loan secured against the home you are selling, advanced on your purchase closing day and repaid out of the sale proceeds when the sale closes. You need it when your purchase closes before your sale does — the down payment is tied up in a house you have sold but not yet been paid for. It is written to your two dates and priced by the day, and nearly every lender requires the sale to be firm first.
How the two closings actually work
On your purchase closing day the lender advances the new mortgage, and the bridge covers the down payment you have not yet received. Your lawyer holds both files. When your sale closes, the proceeds repay the bridge and the interest that accrued in between. You end with one mortgage, as planned.
The order of the dates decides whether you need one at all:
| Your dates | What happens | Bridge needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Sale closes first, then purchase | The proceeds are in your lawyer's trust account before you need them | No |
| Same day | Your lawyer moves the funds between the two files | Usually no, if the same lawyer handles both |
| Purchase closes first | You owe a down payment you do not yet have | Yes |
| Purchase closes first, sale not firm | No known amount and no known repayment date | Not from an A-lender |
Which is why the cheapest fix is often not a loan at all. Moving one closing date by a few days, or using the same lawyer for both transactions, removes the need entirely. That conversation belongs with your realtor while the offer is being written, not after.
Go deeper
The detail, if you want it
Why lenders insist the sale is firm
A bridge is repaid from one specific source: the proceeds of your sale. Most lenders therefore require a firm, unconditional sale on the home you are selling — an accepted offer with conditions still on it is not enough for most lenders.
If your sale is still conditional — on the buyer's financing, on an inspection — the lender has no certainty of being repaid, and a bridge is generally declined. Two routes remain. Write the purchase conditional on your sale, which is weaker in a competing-offer situation but costs nothing. Or use a private lender, which is fast and certain but priced accordingly, and carries a lender fee that must be disclosed to you in writing before you sign. How private lending is priced →
A home equity line of credit arranged before you list is the quiet third option: it costs nothing while undrawn and can cover a down payment without any bridge at all. It has to be in place before the house is on the market. HELOC limits and how they work →
What it costs, and what nobody publishes
Bridge interest runs at a premium to your mortgage rate, and lenders add a set-up fee. Neither figure is published by any regulator, industry body or government source in Canada, so no number for either appears on this site. Ask your lender for the daily interest cost and the set-up fee in writing, and multiply the first by the number of days between your closings.
Two costs do have Nova Scotia figures. Your lawyer registers the bridge and discharges it, at $100 per document in recording fees, and legal fees run $850 to $1,000 plus disbursements on a standard file — expect the higher end when one lawyer is closing a purchase, a sale and a bridge in the same week. Every Nova Scotia closing cost →
Legal, recording and title insurance figures are typical ranges observed in Nova Scotia in 2026; confirm with your lawyer.
If you are posted here
Bridge financing is one of the few areas where a Canadian primary source actually states an entitlement. Under Canadian Armed Forces Relocation Directive (CAFRD), effective April 1, 2026, CAFRD 8.3.07, Bridge financing and lines of credit reimburses interest costs and the associated administration fees charged by the financial institution, for the duration that the proceeds of the sale are unavailable, on the portion of the short-term financing not exceeding the sale proceeds.
Where the previous home is on the market without an accepted offer, the reimbursable amount is worked out against the appraised value instead. Which account it comes from — Core or Custom — depends on the order of your two closings.
If you are posted to CFB Halifax, Shearwater or 14 Wing Greenwood, confirm this with your relocation file before arranging anything privately, because the entitlement can change which option is cheapest. Mortgages for CAF members posted to Nova Scotia →
How it works
From first call to keys, in four steps
-
A 15-minute call
You say what you’re trying to do and roughly what you earn.
Riley tell you what a lender will support, and what to fix first.
-
Documents and pre-approval
You send the short list through a secure upload link.
Riley package the file and come back with a pre-approval and a rate hold.
-
Lenders, side by side
You read the comparison and pick.
Riley place one application with banks, credit unions and monolines, and show you every answer.
-
Approval, lawyer, keys
You sign with your own local lawyer.
Riley hold the lender, appraiser and lawyer to the closing date.
Why a broker
Licensed, independent, paid by the lender
- Licensed in Nova Scotia Associate broker 3001134, verifiable on the provincial register
- $0 broker fee On a standard residential mortgage the lender pays, not you
- Banks, credit unions, monolines One application, placed with the lender that reads your file best
- Every part of the province Bedford office, remote process — Yarmouth to Sydney, the same way
Questions people ask
What is bridge financing?
A short-term loan secured against the home you are selling, advanced on your purchase closing day and repaid out of the sale proceeds when the sale closes. It exists to cover one gap only: the days or weeks between buying your next home and receiving the money from selling your current one. It is not a way to buy a second home you intend to keep.
Can I get a bridge loan without having sold my house?
Usually not. Most lenders require a firm, unconditional sale on the home you are selling — an accepted offer with conditions still on it is not enough for most lenders. Without a firm sale there is no known amount and no known repayment date, so the file moves to a private lender at private-lender pricing, or you write the purchase offer conditional on your sale instead.
How long can a bridge loan run?
It is written to your two closing dates, so it runs for the number of days between them. Lenders set their own maximum and price it by the day, which is why a bridge over a long weekend costs very little and one over two months is a real expense. Nothing authoritative publishes the rates or set-up fees, so ask for both in writing before you commit to the dates.
Does the military relocation programme cover bridge financing?
Yes. Under Canadian Armed Forces Relocation Directive (CAFRD), section 8.3.07 reimburses interest costs and the associated administration fees charged by the financial institution, for the duration that the proceeds of the sale are unavailable, on the portion of the short-term financing not exceeding the sale proceeds. If you are posted to CFB Halifax, Shearwater or 14 Wing Greenwood and buying before your old home closes, that entitlement is worth confirming with your relocation file before you arrange anything privately.
Still unsure? Ask me directly.
If your question isn't here, your situation is probably specific. Fifteen minutes on the phone beats reading another page.
(902) 298-0218 · Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Atlantic
Sent. Thank you.
Your details went straight to Riley. He replies within one business day, usually sooner, by phone or email.
Need it faster? Call (902) 298-0218, Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Atlantic.
Two closing dates that do not line up?
Send both agreements of purchase and sale. You get back whether a bridge is needed at all, what the gap costs, and whether moving one closing date is cheaper than borrowing across it — within a business day.