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Buy your next home first. Pick the right way to do it.

There are five ways to buy before you sell in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. We offer three of them, and we will tell you when one we don't offer is the better fit. Answer three questions below to see which one matches your situation.

Short answer

Yes, you can buy before you sell. If you are listed or about to be and need your equity for the down payment, a bridge loan is the usual tool. If you are 2+ months from listing, a HELOC is usually cheaper. Up against cash buyers? A Cash Offer. Little equity? A strong contingent offer.

  • Bridge loan or Cash Offer: 2.5% + 1%/month + $3,250 fees, no monthly payment while you sell
  • HELOC: usually cheapest, but 3 to 6 weeks to open and a variable rate
  • Hubbard offer: free, but sellers often skip it and accepted ones carry a kick-out clause

Reviewed by Gaetano Ciambriello, NMLS #1783508 · Updated September 2026

See What You'd Qualify For

No SSN · No hard credit pull · ~2 minutes · NMLS #2801

Prefer to talk? Call (203) 452-9899

Which way to buy first fits you?

Three questions. The answer changes with your equity, whether you need the sale money, and how close you are to listing. Sometimes it is an option we don't offer, and we will say so.

1. How much equity is in your current home?
2. Do you need the sale money for the down payment?
3. Is your current home listed?
Your best fit

Answer the 3 questions

We will show the option that fits and the reason, even when it is one we don't offer.

Offer-
Time to money-
See what I'd qualify for Or run the numbers in the bridge loan calculator

No SSN and no hard credit pull to see your options.

All five ways to buy before you sell, side by side

We offer the first three. Your agent handles the fourth. The fifth needs no lender at all.

CompareBridge loanCash OfferHELOC before listingContingency + Hubbard clauseSell first
Offered by AFCYes, from our own fundYes, from our own fundYesWritten by your agentNo lender needed
What the seller seesFinanced offer, no sale contingencyCash termsFinanced offer, no sale contingencyAn offer that depends on your sale, often with a kick-out clauseFinanced offer, no sale contingency
Time to moneyFunded as soon as 7 business days after approvalFunding as soon as 7 business days after approval; purchase closes in about 2 to 4 weeks3 to 6 weeks, variable rateNot neededAt your sale
Cost2.5% + 1%/month + $3,250 fees, paid at payoffSame as a bridge loanVariable rate plus lender feesNo lender cost. Risk of a higher price or losing the house.Rent or storage plus two moves
Payment while you sellNone, interest paid at payoffNone, interest paid at payoffHELOC paymentNothing newRent
Best whenYou are listed or about to be and need your equity for the down paymentMultiple offers, or you are up against cash buyersYou are 2+ months from listingA slow market, or a seller willing to waitYou can't carry any overlap

Bridge loan and Cash Offer representative example: a $250,000 loan held the full 12 months costs $6,250 origination + $3,250 fees + $30,000 interest = $39,500 total cost of credit, an APR of about 16.4%. Up to 80% combined loan-to-value on your current home. No prepayment penalty, no minimum interest. HELOC terms vary by lender. Subject to approval. AFC Mortgage Group, LLC · NMLS #2801 · Equal Housing Lender.

What it looks like in real moves

Funded deal · Relocation

Westport, MA to Tennessee

$390K bridge loan, funded 7 business days after approval.

Massachusetts bridge loans
Funded deal · Move-up

$153K bridge on a $1.45M purchase

Paid off in 29 days.

How our bridge loan works
Example · Multiple offers

Up against cash buyers

Illustrative example, not a real client: a $500,000 Cash Offer paid off in month 2 costs $12,500 origination + $10,000 interest + $3,250 fees = $25,750, and the seller sees cash terms instead of a contingent offer.

How Cash Offer works

89 bridge loans funded since 2024 ($38.2M). On buy-before-you-sell bridges: median loan $422K, median 59 days from funding to payoff, 0 defaults and 0 extensions to date.

Tools and guides

Bridge loan calculator

Model the whole move: bridge cost by month and what you walk away with at the sale.

Run my numbers

The Hubbard clause in Connecticut

What a home-sale contingency and a kick-out clause mean for your offer, and how to write one without it.

Read the guide

Buy-before-you-sell programs in Connecticut

Which national and local programs actually serve Connecticut homes, sourced and dated.

See the programs

Bridge loan vs HELOC

Same house, same equity, both ways to fund the down payment priced side by side.

Compare the costs

Cash Offer

Cash terms for the seller, funded from our bridge fund at the same published price.

Check eligibility

Bridge loans by state: Connecticut · Massachusetts · Rhode Island · New Hampshire · Vermont · New Jersey

Buying before you sell: common questions

Can I buy a house before selling mine?
Yes. There are five ways: a bridge loan, a Cash Offer, a HELOC opened before you list, an offer with a home-sale (Hubbard) contingency, or selling first and renting in between. The first three let you make an offer with no sale contingency.
What is the difference between a bridge loan and a Cash Offer?
Both come from AFC's own bridge fund at the same price. A bridge loan covers your down payment so your financed offer has no sale contingency. A Cash Offer funds the purchase so the seller sees cash terms, with no mortgage, appraisal or sale contingency.
How much does a bridge loan or Cash Offer cost?
2.5% origination, 1% per month interest that accrues and is paid at payoff, and $3,250 in flat fees. A $200,000 loan repaid in month 4 costs $16,250. Representative example: $250,000 held 12 months costs $39,500, an APR of about 16.4%.
When is a HELOC better than a bridge loan?
When you are 2 or more months from listing. A HELOC usually costs less, but it takes about 3 to 6 weeks to open and carries a variable rate, so it needs lead time. If the house you want is on the market now, a bridge loan is the faster tool.
How long do I have to sell my current home?
Up to 12 months. There is no prepayment penalty and no minimum interest, so you pay interest only for the months the loan is open. On our buy-before-you-sell bridges, the median time from funding to payoff has been 59 days.

Ready to Buy Before You Sell?

Two minutes, no SSN, no hard credit pull. We'll show you which path fits your equity and your timeline, and what it costs. Prefer to talk? Call (203) 452-9899. Want the terms first? See our bridge loans in Connecticut page.

See What You'd Qualify For

Bridge Loan Disclosures — AFC Mortgage Group, LLC

AFC Mortgage Group, LLC offers short-term bridge loans secured by a recorded lien on real estate (your current home, the new property, or both). These are secured real-estate loans — not unsecured personal or consumer loans.

No Prepayment Penalty & No Minimum Interest

There is no prepayment penalty and no minimum interest. Interest is charged only for the time your loan is actually outstanding — pay it off early and you only pay interest for the days you used the money.

Representative Example

A bridge loan of $250,000 with a 12-month term: interest accrues at 1% per month (12% annually) and is paid at payoff rather than monthly; a 2.5% origination fee ($6,250) plus approximately $3,250 in attorney, processing, and wire fees are charged at closing. Held the full 12 months, that equals an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of approximately 16.4% — total interest of $30,000 and total cost of credit of approximately $39,500, plus repayment of the $250,000 principal at maturity (balloon). Because there is no prepayment penalty or minimum interest, paying off earlier costs less — e.g., a payoff at 6 months accrues roughly $15,000 in interest instead of $30,000.

Most bridge loans are paid off within a few months: on the same $250,000 loan paid off at 3 months, total interest is approximately $7,500, for a total cost of credit of roughly $17,000 (the $6,250 origination and $3,250 in fees are unchanged) — less than half the full-term figure. The approximately 16.4% APR above is calculated on the required 12-month basis; your actual cost depends on how long the loan remains outstanding.

Terms at a Glance

AFC Mortgage Group, LLC — licensed mortgage lender. NMLS #2801, licensed in AL, CA, CT, FL, GA, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, SC, OH, RI, VT, PA, TN, TX. Equal Housing Opportunity. Rates, terms, and fees are examples only and vary by loan size, LTV, credit, and market conditions. Not a commitment to lend; all loans subject to credit and collateral approval.