SMSF mortgage broker
SMSF loans: property inside super, financed properly.
Buying property inside a self-managed super fund uses a special loan (a limited recourse borrowing arrangement) with its own lenders, deposits and compliance rules. It's Jacob's specialty, and the strategy side is handled with the advisers at LINK Wealth.
Rated 5.0 from 261 Google reviews · Brisbane finance brokers
- Residential and commercial SMSF lending across the specialist lender panel
- Business owners: buy your premises through your SMSF and pay rent to your own fund
- Strategy and compliance handled with LINK Wealth's licensed advisers
How SMSF property loans differ.
SMSF loans are limited recourse: if the fund can't pay, the lender's recourse is limited to the property itself, not the rest of your super. That protection makes lenders conservative: expect deposits around 20-30%, a smaller lender panel (most majors have exited), and structural requirements including a bare trust to hold the property. Rates run above standard home loans, which is exactly why the lender comparison matters more here, not less.
The business-owner play: your premises, your fund.
Commercial property is the standout SMSF strategy for business owners: your fund buys the premises your business operates from, and the business pays market rent to your super instead of a landlord. It's one of the few ways your business and your retirement can fund each other within the rules. Business real property is exempt from the related-party restrictions that stop you doing this with residential property.
The strategy, contribution planning and compliance sit with the licensed advisers at LINK Wealth; the lending sits here. One roof, both halves.
The structure: how an LRBA is put together.
A compliant SMSF purchase has more entities than a normal one, and the order matters. There's the fund itself (usually with a corporate trustee), a separate bare trust (sometimes called a holding trust) with its own trustee to hold the property while the loan exists, and the lender behind them. The bare trustee signs the purchase contract; the fund pays the deposit and services the loan from rent and contributions; the property transfers to the fund outright once the loan is repaid.
Two rules shape everything. The loan can only fund a single acquirable asset, and borrowed money can't be used to improve the property while the loan exists: repairs are fine, improvements aren't. Get the entity names on the contract wrong and you're into rework and potentially extra duty, which is why the structure is set up before anyone signs anything.
What SMSF lenders look for.
The specialist lenders all read the same file, with different appetites:
- LVR: typically 60-80% depending on lender and property type, with commercial at the conservative end
- Liquidity: a buffer of fund assets remaining after settlement, so one vacancy doesn't stress the fund
- Servicing: rent plus a track record of member contributions, assessed with buffers like any loan
- Paperwork: the fund deed, bare trust deed, fund financials and an investment strategy that contemplates the purchase
The process and timeframes.
If the fund and the advice are already in place, SMSF lending runs a few weeks longer than a standard loan: allow two to six weeks from complete file to approval, plus conveyancing. If the fund doesn't exist yet, the advice, establishment and rollovers come first, which adds weeks to months and belongs with the licensed advisers at LINK Wealth.
The step people underestimate is coordination: the contract must be signed by the right trustee, the deposit must come from the fund's account, and the lender's documentation runs through both trusts. We've run the sequence enough times that it's a checklist, not an adventure.
A worked example: a fund buys a premises.
An example with checkable arithmetic. A fund holding $400,000 buys a $500,000 commercial property at 70% LVR: the loan is $350,000 and the fund contributes the $150,000 balance plus transaction costs. After settlement, well over $200,000 of the fund stays invested elsewhere, which is exactly the kind of remaining diversification and liquidity lenders and advisers want to see.
The business then pays market rent to the fund under a documented lease, servicing the loan. Whether that beats the same $500,000 working elsewhere in super is the advice question, and it comes first.
Why LINK Advance.
Jacob's corner.
Complex lending is Jacob's specialty: SMSF, commercial and the deals that need real structuring.
The specialist panel.
Most big banks don't write SMSF loans anymore. We work the lenders who do, and know their appetites.
Wealth next door.
SMSF strategy, setup and advice with LINK Wealth's licensed advisers. The lending and the strategy stay in sync.
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 262 Google reviews name them personally.
Meet the team →262 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.
How much deposit does an SMSF loan need?
Typically 20-30% depending on lender and property type. Commercial usually sits at the higher end. The fund also needs liquidity after settlement; lenders commonly want to see a buffer remaining in the SMSF.
Can my SMSF buy the building my business runs from?
Yes. Business real property is the exception to the related-party rules, and it's the most common SMSF commercial strategy we finance. Your business then pays market-rate rent to your fund, with the lease properly documented.
Can I live in a property my SMSF owns?
No. Residential property bought by your SMSF can't be lived in or rented by you or any related party. It's an investment for the fund only, until you retire and the rules change how benefits can be taken.
Is an SMSF loan right for me?
That's a personal advice question, and it belongs with a licensed financial adviser. Ours sit at LINK Wealth. Broadly, the strategy suits funds with enough balance to keep diversification after the purchase (many advisers use around $200k+ as the working floor). We handle the lending once the advice stacks up.
How long does an SMSF loan take?
With the fund established and the advice done, allow two to six weeks from complete application to approval, plus settlement. Starting from scratch (advice, fund establishment, rollovers, bare trust) adds weeks to months. The moral: if a property purchase is on the horizon, set the structure up before you find the property, not after.
Can my SMSF renovate the property?
Repairs and maintenance, yes. Improvements are where the line sits: while the LRBA exists, borrowed money can't fund improvements and the asset can't be fundamentally changed. The fund can pay for some improvements from its own cash, within limits. It's a compliance question with real teeth, so it goes past the advisers before it goes to a builder.
What happens if the fund can't make repayments?
The lender's recourse is limited to the property itself; that's the 'limited recourse' in LRBA, and it protects the rest of your super from the lender. In practice lenders also take personal guarantees from members, so the protection isn't absolute. It's why lenders insist on liquidity buffers, and why we stress-test the fund's cash flow with a vacancy before recommending the loan.
Are SMSF loan rates higher?
Yes, SMSF loans price above standard home loans: the lending is specialist, the structures cost more to assess, and most major banks have left the space. The spread between the remaining lenders is wide, which makes comparison unusually valuable here. Pricing also improves at lower LVRs, so the deposit decision and the rate are linked.
Who manages the property once the fund owns it, and who values it each year?
Two separate jobs, both ongoing. The fund has to report the property at market value in its accounts for every income year, supported by objective evidence - comparable sales, an agent appraisal that shows its workings, the lease for commercial. And the property still has to be managed, with the bare trustee's name on the management agreement and the tenancy rather than the fund's. LINK Living does both, in the same group and in the same building: they manage SMSF-held property in Brisbane and prepare the annual market and rental appraisal with the comparables attached. Worth lining up before settlement rather than in the following June.
Your broker for life.
The lending half of a good SMSF strategy.
Tell us what you're weighing up. Jacob will map the lending side, and LINK Wealth's advisers cover the strategy. No obligation.
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Level 1, 57 Berwick Street, Fortitude Valley 4006
5.0 · based on 261 Google reviews