Bridging Loans Melbourne
We arrange eligible short-term property-secured finance for Melbourne and Victorian transactions. Facilities are placed with bank, non-bank and specialist lenders according to the transaction. What can be borrowed, over what term and at what price depends on the security offered, the purpose of the funds, the borrower's circumstances and how the facility is to be repaid.
Victoria has its own rules on disclosure, cooling-off and auction conduct, and those rules change how much time a buyer actually has to arrange finance. Several of them are more restrictive than most buyers assume.
When Melbourne buyers use short-term finance
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Buying before the existing home settles, where the next property has been found and the current one is not yet sold. See buying before you sell.
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Bidding at auction, where the contract is unconditional and no cooling-off period applies. See auction bridging loans.
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Purchasing through a company or trust, where cooling-off is unavailable regardless of how the property is bought.
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Covering a settlement timing gap where a purchase completes before a sale. See settlement timing gaps.
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Releasing equity from an existing Melbourne property for an investment purchase or business purpose.
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Funding works before listing, where presentation is affecting the likely sale price.
Upgraders moving within the inner and middle-ring suburbs frequently face misaligned settlement dates, and townhouse and apartment projects across the south-east and western growth corridors often need short-term funding between completion and refinance.
Section 32 statements: what Victorian buyers get before they sign
Victoria requires the vendor to give the purchaser a section 32 vendor statement before the purchaser signs the contract. It is a legal document, prepared under section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962, and it must be factually accurate and complete.
Consumer Affairs Victoria describes it as containing information about the property's title, including:
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Mortgages
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Covenants
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Easements
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Zoning
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Outgoings, for example rates
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A declaration if the property is located in a bushfire-prone area
For apartments it must also include an owners corporation certificate and accompanying documents. If the statement contains incorrect or insufficient information, a buyer may be able to withdraw from the sale or take legal action.
Why this matters for finance
The section 32 has to be available before you sign, and typically before an auction. That is unusual and it works in your favour, because the document contains most of what a lender needs to form an early view: the title particulars, existing mortgages, encumbrances and zoning.
The practical consequence is that a Melbourne buyer can have the section 32 reviewed alongside a finance discussion before committing, rather than discovering a problem afterwards. Zoning, an owners corporation issue, a covenant or a bushfire-prone declaration can all affect what a lender will accept as security, and all of them appear in the statement.
If you are bidding, send the section 32 through with your enquiry. It saves a round of questions and it is the fastest way to establish whether a lender will treat the property as acceptable security.
General information only, current as at the review date below. Obtain legal advice on your own section 32 and contract before signing.
The Victorian cooling-off period, and the four situations where it does not apply
A cooling-off period of three clear business days generally applies to private sales of residential and small rural property in Victoria. If you withdraw during that period, you are entitled to a refund of money paid less $100 or 0.2% of the purchase price, whichever is greater. On a $2,300,000 purchase, 0.2% is $4,600, so that is the amount at stake rather than the $100.
Cooling-off is not available where:
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The property was purchased at a public auction, or within three clear business days before or after a public auction
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The property is used mainly for industrial or commercial purposes
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The property is more than 20 hectares and used mainly for farming
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You previously signed a contract for the same property with the same terms
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The buyer is an estate agent or a corporate body
That last exclusion catches more Melbourne buyers than people realise. If you are purchasing through a company or a corporate trustee, which is how a great many investors and developers buy, there is no cooling-off period on any purchase, whether by private sale or at auction. The same applies to a commercial or industrial property regardless of who is buying it.
The three days either side of an auction is the other one worth knowing. Negotiating just before or just after an auction does not restore a cooling-off right that the auction itself removes.
General information only, current as at the review date below. Cooling-off rules are subject to exceptions and can change. Obtain legal advice before signing.
Settlement timing in Victoria
Settlement periods in Victoria are negotiated between the parties and recorded in the contract rather than fixed by law. Thirty, sixty and ninety day settlements are all common, and the period is a matter for agreement.
What matters for finance is the gap between the date funds are required and the date sale proceeds or a refinance become available. A longer settlement may be negotiable before you sign, though a vendor is not obliged to agree and may seek different commercial terms in exchange. It costs nothing to ask, and it occasionally removes the need for a facility altogether.
What an auction purchase costs to fund
Because a Victorian auction removes the cooling-off period entirely, the funding question has to be answered before the hammer, not after. The figures below show what that looks like on a typical middle-ring upgrade, using the peak debt and end debt structure explained in full on peak debt explained.
An owner-occupier plans to bid at a Saturday auction in Melbourne's middle ring. The contract will be unconditional on the fall of the hammer.
What has to be funded on the day
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Existing home value: $1,650,000, with a mortgage of $410,000
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New purchase price: $2,300,000
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Purchase costs including Victorian land transfer duty, assumed at $135,000
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Cash contributed by the buyer: $80,000
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Peak debt: $2,765,000
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Combined security value across both properties: $3,950,000
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Peak debt LVR: 70.0%
What remains once the old home sells
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Six month term with interest rolled into the balance, so the household carries no monthly repayment during the campaign
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Interest at 7.49% p.a. across the six months: approximately $103,549
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Sale achieved at $1,650,000, less agent and legal costs of $36,300 at 2.2%
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$1,613,700 of net proceeds comes off the balance
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Residual end debt: approximately $1,254,849
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Against the newly purchased property, that sits at 54.6%
From there the residual balance is refinanced onto an ordinary home loan. Establishment, valuation and legal costs sit on top of the figures shown.
Land transfer duty in Victoria varies with price and concessions, so the purchase costs line is an assumption you should replace with a calculation for your own purchase. Everything else shown depends on the properties offered, how the valuations land, the purpose of the borrowing and each lender's own assessment. Approval, eligibility and responsible lending requirements apply.
Work backwards from the residual figure. Whether the peak can be funded is a question for the lender. Whether the residual can be serviced on an ordinary home loan afterwards is a question for the household, and it is the one that decides whether the plan is sound. A comfortable peak LVR tells you very little if the balance left behind is unaffordable. The product itself is set out on residential bridging loans.
Bidding soon? Forward the section 32 along with your current loan balance and the figure you need to reach. We will tell you what is likely to be available and whether the auction date is realistic. Request an assessment.
How lenders size a facility
Indicative equity headroom = (property value multiplied by the lender's maximum LVR) minus the current loan balance
Take a Melbourne home worth $1,650,000 carrying $410,000. At a 75% ceiling the lending capacity is $1,237,500, so headroom is around $827,500 before costs come out. Most ceilings fall between 65% and 75%. Treat the result as an upper boundary rather than an offer, since the purpose of the funds and the strength of the repayment plan both pull the final figure downward.
Run your own numbers through the bridging loan calculator before you commit to a campaign date.
What we arrange for Melbourne and Victorian borrowers
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Residential bridging for owner-occupiers buying, selling or moving between homes.
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Commercial bridging for genuine business, investment and development borrowing, which is also where most corporate-body buyers fall.
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Second mortgage loans, sitting behind the existing lender so a sharp first mortgage rate survives intact.
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Private and non-bank funding for transactions mainstream policy will not reach, or where the auction calendar leaves no room for a full application.
Every option is set out under loan types, with pricing on costs and fees.
We work with households moving up or down, investors and developers buying through corporate structures, business owners, self-employed borrowers and people a bank has already turned away. The full picture sits on who qualifies for a bridging loan.
Both metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria are in scope, subject to valuation and appetite. The further from the city, the more weight a lender puts on how long the property would take to move, and that shows up as a tighter ceiling and a shorter list of funders. Some rural and specialised holdings will not attract an offer.
What sets the pace on a Victorian file
A clean file with documents already assembled can reach settlement in days rather than weeks, though valuation, credit assessment and legal completion all have to happen first. What usually sets the pace:
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Getting a valuer inside the property. Tenanted stock needs notice, and in a busy auction season valuers book out.
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Your current lender's consent, if the new facility ranks behind them. Almost always the slowest part, so start it on day one.
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Owners corporation and title issues raised by the section 32, which is precisely why providing it early helps.
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Proof of how it gets repaid. Everything above delays a file. A repayment plan nobody can document ends it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a section 32 vendor statement?
A legal document a Victorian vendor must give a purchaser before the purchaser signs the contract, prepared under section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962. It sets out information about the property's title, including mortgages, covenants, easements, zoning, outgoings such as rates, and a declaration if the property is in a bushfire-prone area. Apartments also require an owners corporation certificate. If it contains incorrect or insufficient information, a buyer may be able to withdraw from the sale or take legal action.
How long is the cooling-off period in Victoria?
Three clear business days for private sales of residential and small rural property. Withdrawing costs $100 or 0.2% of the purchase price, whichever is greater, so on a $2,300,000 purchase that is $4,600. It does not apply to auction purchases, or within three clear business days before or after a public auction.
Is there a cooling-off period if I buy through a company or trust?
No. Consumer Affairs Victoria confirms cooling-off is not available where the buyer is a corporate body, on any purchase. The same applies where the buyer is an estate agent, where the property is used mainly for industrial or commercial purposes, or where it is more than 20 hectares and used mainly for farming. Investors and developers buying through a corporate structure should assume no cooling-off right exists and have their finance position settled before signing.
Is there a cooling-off period at a Melbourne auction?
No. A purchase at a public auction is unconditional, and cooling-off is also unavailable within three clear business days before or after one. Negotiating immediately before or after an auction does not restore the right.
Can a lender review my section 32 before I bid?
Yes, and it is worth doing. The statement contains the title particulars, existing mortgages, encumbrances and zoning, which is much of what a lender needs to form an early view on whether the property is acceptable security. Because Victorian vendors must provide it before you sign, you have the opportunity to use it that way.
How long is a settlement period in Victoria?
It is negotiated between the parties and recorded in the contract rather than fixed by law. Thirty, sixty and ninety days are all common. A longer settlement may be negotiable before signing, though the vendor is not obliged to agree.
How quickly can short-term finance be arranged in Melbourne?
Days rather than weeks is achievable on a clean file, once valuation, assessment and legal work are complete. Sending the section 32 with your first enquiry is the single easiest way to compress that timeline, because it answers most of the security questions upfront.
Do you arrange finance in regional Victoria?
Yes. The variable outside Melbourne is saleability, which valuers and credit teams weigh more heavily the thinner the local market. Expect a tighter ceiling and a shorter lender list, and accept that some rural or specialised holdings will not attract an offer. Send the address and we will tell you quickly.
Can I borrow against a Melbourne property if I live interstate?
Routinely. The property's location determines the governing law and the settlement, not your own address. Signing happens electronically or via your lawyer, and the valuer attends locally, so there is nothing requiring you to be in Victoria.
Talk it through before the campaign starts
The four things we need are the address, the section 32 if it has been issued, the debt currently sitting against your existing home, and the amount you are trying to raise. Mention early if you are bidding rather than negotiating, or buying in a company name, since both remove the cooling-off safety net and narrow the field of lenders who can move fast enough.
Request an assessment. If you would rather understand the mechanics first, start with how bridging loans work. Buying in another state? See bridging loan locations across Australia, or the rules that apply in Sydney and Brisbane.