Bridge financing checklist
Bridge loan mortgage document checklist
A bridge loan covers the days or weeks between buying the new home and closing the sale of the old one. The lender needs the firm sale agreement with every condition waived, the purchase agreement for the new home and the current mortgage statement, so it can work out the equity in between. This is the list Startly sends your client to complete on their phone.
- Documents
- 11, 10 required
- Applies to
- Bridge financing, salaried, main applicant
- Version
- Startly’s checklist of Nov 1, 2026
The checklist
11 documents in four groups
The firm sale of the current home, the purchase of the new one and the mortgage being paid out, with employment income.
Every document is required unless it says optional. Each upload is checked to be readable and the right document, plus the checks listed under it. Descriptions are shown to your client as written.
Startly’s built-in checklist. Your brokerage can tailor it; your version stays private.
Identity and banking
3 documents, all required
- 1
Government-issued photo ID
Driver's licence or passport, front and back.
Checked for name, front and back, not expired.
- 2
Credit check consent
Signed consent form from your broker. Do not upload your SIN card.
Checked for name, signature and date.
- 3
90 days of bank statements
All pages, for every account you use.
Checked for name, every page, 90 days covered. Figures read and cited to the page.
Buying before your sale closes
4 documents, 3 required
- 4
Firm sale agreement for your current home
With every condition waived and the deposit received. The sale repays the bridge loan.
Checked for name, every page, signature and date.
- 5
Purchase agreement for the new home
Fully signed, with all schedules.
Checked for name, every page, signature and date.
- 6
Current mortgage statement
On the home you are selling. Its balance comes off the sale price.
Checked for name, every page.
- 7
Mortgage approval for the new home,Optional
The commitment letter from the lender financing the new home, if it is not the bridge lender.
Checked for name, every page.
Employment income
2 documents, all required
- 8
Employment letter
On letterhead, dated within 30 days: position, start date, salary or hourly rate.
Checked for name, letterhead and details, dated within 30 days, signature and date. Figures read and cited to the page.
- 9
Two most recent pay stubs
Checked for name. Figures read and cited to the page.
Employment income history
2 documents, all required
- 10
T4 slips, last 2 years
Checked for name, both years. Figures read and cited to the page.
- 11
Notices of Assessment, last 2 years
From CRA My Account. Confirms no taxes owing.
Checked for name, both years. Figures read and cited to the page.
Why these documents
What the lender is looking for
The sale repays the loan, so the lender underwrites the sale: that it is firm, what it nets after the mortgage is paid out, and when it closes against the purchase.
- Firm sale agreement for your current home
- No institutional lender bridges a sale that could still fall through. The waivers and the deposit show it is firm.
- Purchase agreement for the new home
- The purchase price and closing date set how much is needed and for how long. Banks cap a bridge at about 90 days; some lenders go to a year.
- Current mortgage statement
- The balance comes off the sale price. What is left, less selling costs, is the equity the bridge lends against.
- Mortgage approval for the new home
- Optional. Banks bridge only when they hold the new mortgage. When another lender does, the bridge lender wants to see its commitment.
How Startly reads them
Send one link. Startly checks every page.
Step 1
Send one link
Open an Application for a bridge loan. Startly picks this checklist; tailor it, then send your client their link by email or text.
Step 2
Your client sends them
They enter a code we email them, with no account to create, and photograph or upload each item. Reminders follow, by default on days 2, 5 and 9, until everything is in.
Step 3
Startly checks each upload
Readable, the right document, every page, a signed agreement, both years of T4 slips. When something is missing, your client is asked for it, not told what we found.
Step 4
You review and decide
Startly reads the employment figures and cites each to its page. Findings show what doesn’t add up; you dismiss each with a reason, accept each document, then download the package.
Questions
Common questions
What documents do I need for a bridge loan in Canada?
The firm Agreement of Purchase and Sale for your current home with every condition waived, the Agreement of Purchase and Sale for the new home, your current mortgage statement, and the mortgage commitment on the new home if another lender holds it, with government ID, a credit check consent and the usual income documents when the bridge lender does not already have your file. Your lawyer handles the letter of direction at closing.
Can my client get bridge financing without a firm sale?
Not from a bank. A private lender may bridge an unfirm sale against an appraisal of the current home. Startly’s checklist asks for the firm agreement; your brokerage can tailor it for private files.
Does the bridge loan have to be with the same bank as the new mortgage?
At the big banks, yes: they bridge only mortgages they are funding. Other lenders will bridge a purchase financed elsewhere, which is why the mortgage commitment is on the list as an optional item.
Does my client need an account?
No. Each applicant has their own link and signs in with a one-time code sent to their email.
Early access
Collect a bridge loan file without the chase.
Sign in with your work email to join the waitlist. We let brokerages in a few at a time and email you when your account is ready. Early-access brokerages get their first 3 months free.