Step 1
Firm sale
Your current home has sold firmly and there is equity expected from the sale.
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Buying and Selling
What If Your Down Payment Is Tied Up in the Home You’re Selling?
You may have more than enough equity coming from the sale of your current home, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can access it when you need it. The deposit on your next purchase is one common example.
7 min readUpdated October 2026
The Timing Problem
The money is there. It just isn't available yet.
Your current home has a firm sale
You expect to have equity available from the sale once it completes.
You need some of that equity earlier
The deposit on another home may be due before your sale completes, or you may need the funds for another planned expense.
Sometimes the numbers work perfectly, but the dates don't.
The Timing Gap
You can have enough equity and still not have the cash when you need it.
When you buy your next home, the deposit may be due only a few days after the offer is accepted. But if the money you plan to use is coming from the sale of your current home, you may not receive those sale proceeds until weeks later.
That creates a timing problem rather than an equity problem. The money is expected from the sale, but it is not yet available in your bank account.
Savings, an available line of credit or help from family may solve the gap in some situations. When those options are not available or do not make sense, accessing some of the equity from the firm sale earlier may be worth considering.
Accessing the Equity Earlier
Deposit financing can make some of that equity available before the sale completes.
Deposit financing is short-term financing that may allow you to access some of the equity from a home you have already sold before that sale actually completes.
Despite the name, the money does not necessarily have to be used for the deposit on your next home. Depending on the provider and situation, the funds may also be available for other planned expenses before the sale completes.
The important part is where the money is coming from: equity that is already expected from a firm sale.
How the Money Moves
Step 2
Funds advanced
If approved, the short-term financing is advanced before the sale completes.
Step 3
Sale completes
The proceeds from the sale of your existing home become available.
Step 4
Financing repaid
The financing and applicable fees are repaid from the sale proceeds through the lawyer or notary handling the transaction.
Firm sale → Funds advanced → Sale completes → Financing repaid
Important
You need a firm sale first.
Deposit financing is not a way to access equity from a home that has not sold yet. Your existing property needs to have a firm sale in place.
The provider needs the sale information and enough equity in the property to support the financing. They will also need information about the mortgage and any other charges that must be paid from the sale proceeds.
If your home is still listed, or you have an accepted offer that is still subject to conditions, the firm-sale requirement has not yet been met.
The firm sale is what makes this type of financing possible.
Different Timing Needs
Deposit financing and bridge financing solve different timing problems.
Both can involve equity from a home that has already sold, but they are usually used at different points in the buying and selling process.
Accessing Equity Before Completion
Deposit financing
Deposit financing may allow you to access some of the equity from a firm sale before that sale completes. The deposit on another home is a common use, but depending on the provider and situation, the funds may also be available for other planned expenses.
A firm sale comes first
Your current home needs to have a firm sale in place, with enough equity available to support the financing.
The money may be needed before completion
The deposit on the next purchase is one common reason, but other approved uses may also be possible.
It is repaid from the sale proceeds
When the sale completes, the financing and applicable fees are repaid from the sale proceeds through the lawyer or notary handling the transaction.
Covering the Completion Gap
Bridge financing
Bridge financing is typically used when the home you are buying completes before the home you sold. The sale is firm, but the proceeds will not be available until after the new purchase needs them.
It is usually tied to the completion dates
The financing covers the short gap between the completion of the new purchase and the later completion of the existing sale.
It may be available through the new mortgage lender
Many mortgage lenders offer bridge financing when their requirements are met and there is a firm sale on the current property.
The amount and timing still need to work
The lender will look at the sale proceeds, the amount needed to complete the new purchase and the length of time between the two completion dates.
Same equity. Different timing problem.
Deposit financing is generally about accessing equity before the sale completes. Bridge financing is generally about covering the gap when the new purchase completes before the existing sale. Which one fits depends on when the money is needed and how the purchase and sale dates line up.
How It Works
What information is needed?
Once there is a firm sale, Deposit Financing will need information about the property you sold, the sale agreement, the mortgage and any other charges registered against the property.
A lawyer or notary also needs to be retained for the sale. Their office will need the documents required to confirm the transaction and arrange repayment from the sale proceeds.
Once the information has been reviewed, the financing documents are completed and the request is approved, the funds can be advanced before the sale completion date.
When the sale completes, the lawyer or notary repays the financing and applicable fees from the sale proceeds. The remaining sale proceeds are then handled as part of the normal completion of your sale.
Deposit Financing currently provides this service for properties in British Columbia.
Short-Term Financing
What does deposit financing cost?
Deposit financing is short-term financing, so there is a cost to using it. The exact amount depends on how much you need to access, how long the funds are required and the provider's current pricing.
Because those details can change, I do not think it makes sense to hard-code pricing here. You can see the current terms and program details directly on the Deposit Loans page.
The more useful question is whether the cost makes sense for the timing problem it solves. If accessing the equity earlier lets the rest of your purchase plan work, the cost can be weighed against the available alternatives.
A Simple Example
A $50,000 deposit is due six weeks before the sale completes.
Expected Equity
$250,000
Deposit Needed
$50,000
Sale Completes
In 6 weeks
Let's say you expect to have about $250,000 of equity from the sale of your current home after the mortgage and selling costs are paid. The sale is firm, but it does not complete for another six weeks.
Before then, you find the next home you want to buy and your offer is accepted with a $50,000 deposit due.
You do not have an equity problem. You have a timing problem.
The sale proceeds are coming, but not soon enough to cover the deposit.
In that situation, deposit financing may allow you to access the $50,000 before the sale completes. If approved, the funds are advanced earlier and the financing and applicable fees are repaid from the sale proceeds when the existing home completes.
Reviewed for Accuracy
Neil Beaumont
Deposit Financing
The Deposit Financing information in this article was reviewed for accuracy by Neil Beaumont of Deposit Financing.
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Buying and Selling at the Same Time?
Find the timing gap before the next purchase depends on it.
I can help you work through how much equity is expected from your sale, when you actually receive it, when the next deposit or down payment is due, and whether deposit financing, bridge financing or another source of funds fits the gap.
Sometimes the numbers work perfectly.
It's the timing that needs a plan.