Your next home
Moving is a timing problem before it's a money problem.
Upgrading, downsizing or relocating — the hard part is rarely the loan. It's the order you do things in, and having finance ready before you need it.
Where you're at
Four versions of the same move.
Upgrading
More space, a better school catchment, a second child on the way. The question is almost always sequencing — and whether you can buy before you sell without overcommitting.
Downsizing
Releasing capital from a larger home. Often simpler financially, but lenders can treat retirement or near-retirement income conservatively, so it's worth planning early.
Relocating
A new job, a different city, or moving back. Timing two settlements across a distance needs the finance arranged well before you list.
Keeping the old one
Turning your current home into an investment instead of selling it. The loan structure you choose here has lasting tax consequences — get it right before you move, not after.
The sequencing question
Buy first, sell first, or both at once?
There's no universally right answer — only the one that fits your equity, your market and how much uncertainty you can live with.
Sell first, then buy
You know your exact budget and you're not carrying two loans. The trade-off is pressure: you may need a rental or a long settlement while you look.
Buy first with bridging
You secure the property you want and sell without being rushed into a low offer. You carry peak debt for a period, with interest typically capitalised.
Simultaneous settlement
Both transactions settle the same day. Cleanest on paper and genuinely stressful in practice — one delay anywhere moves everything.
What we handle
Two settlements, one set of moving parts.
The finance is ours to coordinate. You should be thinking about removalists, not about whether the valuation lands in time.
- Pre-approval on the new purchase before you start looking seriously
- Bridging finance arranged if you're buying before you sell
- A structure that keeps deductibility clean if you're retaining the old home
- Porting assessed against a full market review, so you don't default to it
- Settlement dates coordinated with your conveyancer on both sides
- A rate review a year on, once the dust has settled
How much can you actually borrow?
Open BorrowIQ — our borrowing power calculator. A real serviceability engine, not an income × 5 guess. Takes about two minutes.
Next home FAQ
What movers ask.
Should I buy before I sell, or sell first?
It comes down to your tolerance for two risks. Buying first means carrying both properties for a period, usually with bridging finance — you get the property you want without a rushed sale. Selling first gives you a known budget and no double debt, but you may be renting or chasing a long settlement. In a rising market, buying first often costs less than it looks. In a slow one, it can be expensive. We'll run both against your actual numbers.
How does bridging finance work?
The lender calculates your peak debt — both properties plus costs — and charges interest-only on it, often capitalised so you're not making two full repayments. When the old property sells, the proceeds clear the bridging portion and you're left with a normal loan on the new home. Terms are usually six to twelve months. More detail here.
Can I keep my current home and rent it out?
Often yes, and it can be a good move — but the structure matters enormously. If you pay down your current loan and then redraw to buy the new home, the interest on the redrawn amount generally isn't deductible even though the old property is now the investment. Set up correctly from the start, the outcome can be very different. Talk to us and your accountant before you move, not after.
Can I take my existing loan with me?
Sometimes — it's called porting, and it lets you substitute the security on an existing loan rather than discharging it. It can save break costs on a fixed rate. In practice, moving usually also means changing the loan amount, and at that point a full review across lenders is often the better outcome anyway.
Will I need to pay LMI again?
Only if you're borrowing above 80% of the new property's value. Most upgraders have enough equity to stay under that. LMI isn't transferable between loans or lenders, so if you do cross the threshold again, it's a fresh premium.
Thinking about moving this year?
Start the finance conversation before you start inspecting. It takes fifteen minutes and it changes what you can realistically go after.