My husband and I are reaching our 80th year – healthy and happy, thank God. We live in a large, semidetached, four-bedroomed house with a large garden. We want to downsize but would like to be able to buy before we sell our house.I read somewhere that there was a form of bridging finance (not called that) which we could avail of. The option would be to borrow against our home, buy an alternative and then repay after a year.I think there are many people in a similar situation to us and we would be pleased if you could shed some light on the subject.AKDownsizing is such a sensible option for so many people. We upgrade to larger homes as our families grow, but when they move out there is little sense in maintaining these larger properties as we get older. They are more useful to the growing families coming behind us.But, for a number of reasons, it has become next to impossible in practical terms.In too many places, especially urban areas, long-term planning has done nothing to ensure smaller homes are available for people looking to downsize while staying close to where they live.This is crucial. By that stage of our lives we have built strong local networks – friends, clubs, shopping, utilities – and we are less able and less inclined to do so all over again in a new location. Children are the great icebreaker for families moving into an area for all sorts of reasons. In older age, it is much more difficult.So we stay in homes others need because planners have not ensured there is a housing mix within areas to accommodate life’s progression.And then there’s finance. In today’s tight housing market, selling your existing home is relatively easy provided everyone is reasonable on price – reasonable being a relative term here – but finding the new home you are looking for could be much more difficult.[ Bridging finance is back on the table for Ireland's homebuyersOpens in new window ]For that reason, most people will be much more comfortable buying the home they want to move to before selling their own – as you are. But as most of our wealth is tied up in our homes or other long-term investments like pensions, few of us have the ready cash to splash out on a new home before we sell our own. That’s especially true for older people who are no longer earning and therefore will not qualify for a mortgage.Enter bridging finance – or a “trading down” mortgage as it is called these days.This was a staple of the mortgage market before the financial crash, but it was the first to go. With property prices slumping, banks were no longer willing to take the chance that customers could repay these loans in full.The good news for you and others in your position is that bridging is back – at least to some degree.Not every lender is back in the market, but Bank of Ireland and ICS Mortgages have products in this category.[ How do I work out capital gains on a jointly owned holiday home after partner’s death?Opens in new window ]I’ll run quickly through the ICS product because it is no longer available to you but may be of interest to others.ICS allows you to borrow up to 70 per cent of the value of your existing home – anywhere from €100,000 to €1.5 million – for periods of 12 or 18 months. The former has an interest rate of 11.32 per cent, the latter 11.72 per cent. On top of that, there is a 1 per cent arrangement fee.However, it is available only in certain parts of the State – urban centres with a population of more than 5,000 as well as commuter counties surrounding Dublin, to people with an income of at least €40,000.More importantly for you, there is an age cut-off – no more than 75 years old by the time the loan is paid off – which means it will not work for you and many other families.[ Can we choose which of our two properties is exempt from capital gains tax?Opens in new window ]The other option is Bank of Ireland. It calls its product the Trading Down Equity Release Mortgage.It is more restrictive than the ICS product but the interest rate is significantly more attractive.You can borrow up to 60 per cent of your current home’s value for a period of no more than 12 months. The interest rate is variable – so it can change – but for now it is 7 per cent.As with all such products, your home must be mortgage free. You will also need to have the financial resources to cover legal, valuation and other costs.The valuer will, among other things, have to be able to assure the bank that it is reasonable to expect your current home could be sold within six months.Twelve months sounds like a lot but in today’s housing market that is not necessarily the case. You need to have the property you intend to move to identified when you apply for the loan and you really should have much of the groundwork done on putting your own home up for sale – including any touching up or repairs required.There is no extension to the Bank of Ireland product so, come 12 months, it falls due whether or not you have sold your home and the bank will have to take a charge against your current home as security.Bridging finance does open the door to many couples like you who might not be cash rich but have a home that can more than meet the cost of the smaller property they wish to move to once it is sold. However, you do need to have a lot of the preparatory work done before applying for these types of loans.Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street Dublin 2, or by email to dominic.coyle@irishtimes.com with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice