Livingston County · Southeast Michigan
Bridge Loans in Brighton, Michigan
Brighton is home base: my office is on Grand River Avenue, so Livingston County homeowners can meet with me locally. A bridge loan lets you use the equity in your current home to buy the next one before it sells, so you can move once whether you're upsizing in Brighton or Howell or moving closer to family. I'm David Keblaitis, a Michigan loan originator with Cornerstone First Mortgage.
The Brighton market and why buying first works here
Livingston County sits between Metro Detroit, Ann Arbor and Lansing along the I-96 and US-23 corridors, which is why it draws commuters who want more space without losing access to those job centers. In September 2026 the county's median sale price was the highest of the Realcomp counties covered on this site, and homes averaged 26 days on market.
Those numbers cut both ways for a move. Higher values can mean more equity to work with, depending on what you owe and the lender's combined loan-to-value limit, and a reasonably quick sale helps keep the overlap between the two homes short. The flip side is that a well-priced Brighton or Hartland listing can go fast, so buyers who have to sell first can lose the house they want.
Because I work here, I can help you think through both halves: what your current home is likely to sell for, and how to structure the purchase so you're not carrying two homes longer than necessary. If the numbers don't support a bridge loan, I'll tell you and we'll look at the other ways to time the move.
Livingston County at a glance, September 2026
- Median sale price
- $415,000
- Average days on market
- 26
Source: Realcomp, September 2026 single-family statistical highlights (2026-10-07)
Brighton-area communities we serve
- Brighton
- Howell
- Hartland
- Pinckney
- Fowlerville
- Genoa Township
Michigan rules to plan around in Livingston County
- Homestead exemption on the old home. Owning two Michigan homes for a while doesn’t have to cost you the homestead (principal residence) exemption on the old one. With Treasury Form 4640 you can keep it for up to three years while the old home is for sale, not occupied, not leased and not used for business, once you have established your new Michigan principal residence. File by June 1 or November 1 of the first year and again each year by December 31.
Source: Michigan Treasury, Conditional Rescission of the Principal Residence Exemption (checked 2026-10-17)
- Transfer tax when you sell. When you sell, Michigan’s state real estate transfer tax is $3.75 for each $500 of value and the county tax is 55 cents for each $500 in counties under two million people (up to 75 cents in larger ones), and the seller pays both by law.
Sources: MCL 207.525 (State Real Estate Transfer Tax Act) (checked 2026-10-17); MCL 207.504 (county real estate transfer tax) (checked 2026-10-17); MCL 207.523 (seller is liable for the state tax) (checked 2026-10-17); MCL 207.502 (seller is liable for the county tax) (checked 2026-10-17)
- MSHDA in Livingston County. MSHDA’s MI Home Loan is for first-time buyers (no home owned in the past three years) statewide and repeat buyers only in targeted areas. Outside targeted areas, anyone who has owned a principal residence in the last three years is not eligible. If you own a home now, have a participating lender check the new home’s address and your situation before you count on MSHDA. In Livingston County, MSHDA's targeted areas include Cohoctah Township, Conway Township, Howell and Iosco Township.
Sources: MSHDA, MI Home Loan (checked 2026-10-17); MSHDA Targeted Areas flyer (2024-05-01)
More in the Michigan buy-before-you-sell guide and the comparison of ways to buy before you sell.
Learn more about bridge loans
Bridge loans across Michigan
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David Keblaitis, NMLS #167980, Cornerstone First Mortgage, LLC, NMLS #173855. Market figures are for the whole county and month shown, not a forecast or an estimate of your home's value.