Commercial property
Commercial property loans: premises, investment, or through your super.
Buying the building your business runs from is the classic owner's move: rent stops leaving, equity starts building. We finance premises purchases, commercial investment property and the SMSF version, with the deal structured the way commercial credit teams want to see it.
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- Owner-occupied premises, commercial investment and SMSF commercial (LRBA) lending
- Typical LVRs 65-80% depending on property type and lease profile
- Structure set with your accountant: entity, security and tax working together
Owner-occupiers: stop paying someone else's mortgage.
If the business pays rent reliably, it can usually pay a loan instead. Lenders assess premises deals on the business's capacity (financials, rental history, industry) and the property itself. Deposits run higher than residential (typically 20-35%), but the maths compounds: rent becomes equity, occupancy costs stabilise, and the property can end up in your SMSF paying rent to your own retirement.
That last version (business real property through a self-managed super fund) is the standout structure for established owners, run jointly with the licensed advisers at LINK Wealth.
What commercial credit teams look for.
The strong files share the same bones:
- Two years of financials (or a strong story and security where trading is shorter)
- A clear purpose and exit: what the property does for the business
- Serviceability with buffers, including realistic outgoings and rate stress
- Clean ATO position, or a plan for it: arrears aren't fatal, surprises are
How commercial loans differ from home loans.
Same idea, different machinery. Loan terms commonly run 15 to 25 years rather than 30. Valuations are commercial jobs: slower, costlier and usually paid by the borrower. Pricing is deal-by-deal rather than a carded rate, which is why two businesses can pay very different margins for the same building. Some facilities carry annual reviews; others are set for the term like a home loan, and that difference matters more than most borrowers realise.
Documentation has lanes too: full-doc (your financials prove the servicing), lease-doc for investors (the tenant's rent covers the interest), and plenty in between. Which lane your deal fits determines both the lender list and the price.
A worked example: buying your premises.
An example with checkable arithmetic. Your business buys its $1,200,000 premises at 70% LVR: the loan is $840,000 and your equity contribution is $360,000 plus costs like duty, valuation and legals. If you currently pay rent, that money stops leaving the business and starts covering your own loan instead; whether the swap works is a cash-flow comparison we run with your accountant, not a slogan.
The $360,000 doesn't have to be cash in the trading account. Many owners fund it through an equity release against their home, and established owners often buy through their SMSF instead. Structuring where the deposit comes from is half the deal.
The process and realistic timeframes.
Commercial purchases reward preparation. The honest sequence:
- Scoping and lender shortlist (days): entity, deposit source, lender appetite for the property type
- Indicative terms (about a week): pricing and conditions in writing before you commit
- Valuation and credit approval (two to four weeks): the valuation is usually the pacing item
- Documentation and settlement (one to three weeks): solicitors on both sides, plus leases if tenanted
Who it suits, and who it doesn't.
Buying premises suits established businesses with stable location needs and a deposit that doesn't starve working capital. It locks in occupancy costs, builds an asset, and opens the SMSF strategy later. It doesn't suit businesses likely to outgrow the space in two years, or where the deposit is the same money needed to fund growth: a great building with an underfunded business inside it is a bad trade.
Commercial investment property has its own honest ledger: yields typically run higher than residential, but vacancies last longer, tenants are businesses, and the value tracks the lease. The lease profile is the asset, and we assess it that way.
Your broker, not a call centre.
Hugh, Callum and Jacob write every loan themselves: the person who meets you is the person who structures the deal, drives the approval and reprices your rate every six months after settlement. That's why 261 Google reviews name them personally.
Meet the team →261 five-star reviews, and counting.
The reviews page →Verify on Google →Callum and the team were fantastic to deal with every step of the way. As first home buyers we really appreciated Callum's simple explanations of each part of the process and we couldn't be happier with the result.
Seamless experience dealing with Hugh and the Link Advance team to refinance our home. Thank you!
Jacob and the team at LINK Advance made buying our investment property quick and painless. Would recommend
We’ve just bought our first home with the help of Callum and the team at LINK, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Callum went above and beyond, kept us informed every step of the way, and made the whole process feel easy and stress-free. Highly recommend!
Hugh has been amazing throughout the process of buying our new house. He is very approachable and knowledgable and went above and beyond what we expected to help us out. Thanks so much Hugh!
Jacob was an efficient mortgage broker. The process was made simple and constant updates were communicated. Any questions asked were responded to timely. Highly recommend Jacob.
Building a house can be so stressful and overwhelming let alone dealing with the finance aspect of it, however with Callum it has been the exact opposite. He has been so patient and extremely helpful throughout the whole process. Highly recommend!
Hugh Dellit was fantastic to work with and truly understood our needs when it came to applying for our first home loan. I would highly recommend him for his professional, kind and friendly service.
Jacob provided informative and friendly service every step of the way. He was a great comfort to us as first home buyers as we knew we were in good hands. Thanks for all of your help Jacob!
Hugh and the rest of the team were excellent at securing us a home loan. Knowledgeable, friendly, very communicative and made the entire process stress free and easy. We can’t recommend Hugh and the rest of the team at Link Advance enough.
Frequently asked questions.
What deposit do I need for a commercial property?
Typically 20-35% depending on the property type, your trading history and whether it's owner-occupied. Standard commercial sits around 65-80% LVR. Specialised properties (childcare, medical, industrial with single use) price and gear differently.
Are commercial rates higher than home loan rates?
Yes, generally 1-3% above residential depending on security and the deal's strength, which is exactly why the lender comparison matters more here. The spread between lenders on the same commercial deal is far wider than on home loans.
Can my SMSF buy my business premises?
Yes. Business real property is the exception to the related-party rules. Your fund buys the premises, your business pays market rent to your own super. The lending is specialist (LRBA, 20-30% deposits); the strategy and compliance sit with LINK Wealth's advisers.
How long does commercial approval take?
Longer than residential: typically two to six weeks depending on the lender, valuation and the file's complexity. Deals prepared with financials, leases and ATO position up front move materially faster.
What loan terms do commercial property loans run?
Commonly 15 to 25 years, shorter than the residential 30, with interest-only periods available up front. Some facilities are fully set for the term; others carry annual reviews or shorter commitment periods, a real difference between lenders that headline pricing doesn't show. We flag it before you choose.
What is a lease-doc loan?
A commercial investment loan assessed mainly on the property's lease: if the rent comfortably covers the interest, some lenders don't need your full business financials. It suits investors buying tenanted commercial property with strong leases. LVRs run a touch more conservative and pricing slightly higher than full-doc, in exchange for far less paperwork.
Can I use equity in my home for the deposit?
Yes, and it's the most common deposit source we see: an equity release against your home funds the commercial deposit, and the commercial loan secures the property itself. It keeps the structures clean and often improves the overall pricing. The alternative for established owners is buying through the SMSF, which uses super instead of home equity.
Do commercial loans have ongoing reviews?
Some do: annual reviews where the lender re-checks financials, and covenants like minimum interest cover on larger facilities. Plenty of commercial property loans, especially at lower LVRs, are set for the term with no reviews at all. If you'd rather never re-audition for your own loan, say so; it narrows the lender list, and we price both versions.
Your broker for life.
Bring the premises plan.
Jacob maps the lending: deposit, entity, lender shortlist. No obligation.
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Level 1, 57 Berwick Street, Fortitude Valley 4006
5.0 · based on 261 Google reviews