I’m Michael DiVita — DRE #01372066 | NMLS #241655, DiVita Home Finance (DRE #01818285 | NMLS #323700), Tiburon, CA. I’ve been in California mortgage lending since 2000 and founded DiVita Home Finance in 2007. Call (800) 239-1103.
In competitive California real estate markets — Marin, the Bay Area, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles — a contingent offer is often a dead offer. Sellers routinely reject them in favor of buyers who don’t require the sale of another property to close. But what if you haven’t sold your current home yet? That’s the classic move-up buyer’s dilemma. The Bridge Loan HELOC is the solution most buyers don’t know exists. See also: HELOC California — all programs and Marin County mortgage broker.
What Is a Bridge Loan HELOC?
A Bridge Loan HELOC is a revolving line of credit secured by the equity in your current (departing) home. You use it to fund the down payment — or even the full purchase — of your next home before your existing home sells. Once your current home sells, you use the proceeds to pay off the bridge loan. The entire structure is temporary by design — it bridges the financial gap between your two closings.
Why Contingent Offers Kill Deals in California
A contingent offer tells a seller: “I’ll buy your home if mine sells first.” In a market where multiple offers are common — as is true throughout coastal California — that seller will almost always choose the non-contingent buyer. A Bridge Loan HELOC eliminates the contingency. You arrive as a fully capable buyer who doesn’t need to sell first. That’s a fundamentally different — and much stronger — negotiating position.
How the Numbers Work
A Bay Area move-up buyer wants to purchase a $1.8 million home in Tiburon. They own a $1.4 million home in San Rafael with a $500,000 mortgage — roughly $900,000 in equity. They need a 25% down payment: $450,000. They open a Bridge Loan HELOC on the San Rafael home for $450,000; make a clean, non-contingent offer on the Tiburon home; close on Tiburon; list San Rafael and typically sell within 60–90 days; at San Rafael’s closing, the $450,000 bridge balance is paid off from proceeds; remaining net equity (~$450,000) goes to them. During the bridge period, they pay interest only on the $450,000 drawn — high, but temporary, and far better than losing the Tiburon home to a competing non-contingent buyer.
Bridge Loan HELOC Program Details
- Loan amounts: $50,000–$750,000 (second lien); up to $1,000,000 (first lien bridge)
- Rate: Variable; floor 6.95%
- Minimum draw: $50,000
- FICO minimum: 640
- Interest-only payments during bridge period
- Fast underwriting — HELOC Express: 1 business day initial UW
- Collateral: Departing (current) residence
Qualifying for a Bridge Loan HELOC — Key Considerations
Lenders will evaluate equity in your current home (must support the draw at program LTV), your ability to carry two housing payments temporarily (your new mortgage + the bridge interest), credit score and overall creditworthiness, and a realistic timeline for selling the departing home. In California’s major metro markets, well-priced homes typically sell in 30–90 days — making the bridge period manageable for most move-up buyers with adequate income.
Markets Where Bridge Loan HELOCs Are Most Used
Bridge Loan HELOCs are especially valuable in California’s inventory-constrained, competitive markets: Marin County (Tiburon, Belvedere, Sausalito, Mill Valley, Ross); San Francisco (Pacific Heights, Noe Valley, Cole Valley, Sea Cliff); Silicon Valley (Los Altos, Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto); East Bay (Piedmont, Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga); Los Angeles (Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills).
- Bridge Loan HELOC — Full Program Page
- HELOC California — All Programs
- Marin County Mortgage Broker
- San Francisco Mortgage Broker
- HELOC vs. Cash-Out Refinance
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a Bridge Loan HELOC let me make a non-contingent offer in Marin or the Bay Area?
A Bridge Loan HELOC taps the equity in your current home to provide the down payment funds for your next purchase before you sell your current home. With those funds in hand, you can close on your new home without any sale-of-current-home contingency. To sellers in competitive Marin County and Bay Area markets — where most listings receive multiple offers — a non-contingent buyer is dramatically more appealing than a contingent one. You’re effectively competing as a buyer who has already “solved” the move-up problem. Once your current home sells, typically within 60–90 days, you use the sale proceeds to pay off the Bridge Loan HELOC in full.
Can I carry two mortgage payments during a bridge loan period?
This is the key qualification question lenders will ask. During the bridge period, you’re carrying your new home’s full mortgage payment plus interest-only on the bridge HELOC drawn amount. Lenders will verify your income is sufficient to service both obligations. In the example of a $1.8M Tiburon purchase with a $450,000 bridge HELOC: the new Tiburon mortgage might run $8,500/month, plus bridge interest of roughly $3,000–$3,500/month interest-only, for a total of ~$12,000/month in housing costs during the bridge period. You’ll need documented income sufficient to support this — though the qualifying standard varies by lender, and the bridge period is expected to be short (60–90 days typically). I’ll model exactly what you’d need to qualify before you start shopping.
How long does a Bridge Loan HELOC take to set up?
Bridge Loan HELOC programs offer expedited underwriting — typically 1 business day for an initial underwriting decision via HELOC Express programs. Full close typically runs 7–15 days depending on appraisal requirements. Loan amounts up to $400,000 often qualify for AVM-only (no in-person appraisal), which significantly speeds the process. For move-up buyers who need to move quickly in competitive markets, the bridge HELOC’s speed is one of its key advantages — you can have a committed line in place before you even find your next property, so you’re ready to move immediately when the right listing appears.
Talk to Michael Directly
DiVita Home Finance | Tiburon, CA | In lending since 2000, founded DiVita Home Finance in 2007. Michael DiVita DRE #01372066 | NMLS #241655. Company DRE #01818285 | NMLS #323700.
💬 Text: (310) 849-9124
