Private Mortgage Lender for Family Trust Commercial Property Loans

Trust structures are among the most common holding vehicles for commercial property in Australia, and among the most misunderstood by bank credit teams. Discretionary trusts with multiple beneficiaries, related corporate trustees, and layered group structures often trigger policy restrictions at mainstream banks that have nothing to do with the quality of the underlying asset or the creditworthiness of the effective controller. Private lending assesses the security property and the trustee's capacity to hold and exit, rather than applying blanket trust-policy restrictions.

Who This Is For

• •Discretionary family trusts with a corporate trustee purchasing commercial investment or owner-occupier property
• •Unit trusts where unitholders are companies or other trusts, creating a structure banks find difficult to assess
• •Trusts purchasing commercial property in time-critical settlements where bank processing cannot keep pace
• •Trust borrowers who have been declined by a bank due to the trust deed, beneficiary complexity, or group structure
• •Trusts with an existing commercial portfolio seeking to add assets without waiting on bank serviceability modelling
• •Not available for bare trusts holding property under an SMSF LRBA (see our SMSF product), residential property, or consumer lending

How We Assess Trust Borrowers

Our assessment requires confirmation that the trust is properly constituted, that the trustee has capacity to borrow on behalf of the trust, and that the trust deed permits the relevant borrowing and security giving. We work with your solicitor to review the trust deed and confirm the structure before proceeding. This review runs concurrently with our property assessment rather than sequentially, which preserves time.

The credit decision centres on the security property and the exit. The trustee and beneficiary guarantors are assessed proportionately. For trusts with corporate trustees, the directors of the trustee company are typically required to guarantee. For trusts with individual trustees, the trustees guarantee directly. Neither case requires a perfect personal credit history across all parties.

Submit your scenario with the trust structure details, the security property, and the proposed LVR. Same-day indicative response. Letter of offer within 24 hours of agreed terms. Settlement from 24 to 72 hours for clean deals.

Three Trust Borrower Scenarios We Have Recently Helped

A discretionary family trust with a corporate trustee wanted to purchase a suburban retail property at an unconditional contract deadline of 21 days. The trust's bank required assessment of all group entities across three related trusts before it could proceed. We assessed the security property and the trustee company's capacity to proceed. Loan: $2.1 million, first mortgage, 65% LVR, 12-month term.

A unit trust with four corporate unitholders needed to refinance its existing commercial property loan after the bank notified it would not renew. The complex unitholder structure created a policy flag at two alternative banks. We assessed on the property value, the loan amount, and the trust's ability to service during the loan term. Loan: $3.8 million refinance, 18-month term to allow time for a bank refinance.

A family trust had been declined by its bank for a second commercial property purchase. The bank cited the trust's existing loan-to-income ratio across the whole portfolio. We assessed the new acquisition on its own merits: the property, the LVR, and the exit. The existing portfolio was not part of our assessment. Loan: $1.4 million, settled within 5 business days.

Speed and Process Advantage

We hold direct credit authority with no external committee. Trust deed review, property valuation, and underwriting run concurrently. For trust borrowers in time-critical purchase or refinance situations, we provide an indicative position the same day you submit a complete scenario and can settle within 24 to 72 hours for clean deals. Trust complexity is not a reason for a slower process with us.

"Trust-held commercial property is one of the most common scenarios we work with, and the credit outcomes are usually positive when the trust is well-structured and the asset is strong. The complexity that can stall a bank application, layered trust structures, related corporate trustees, and multiple beneficiaries, is generally not an obstacle for private lending because we assess the security and the guarantors rather than the trust mechanics. A clean asset and a credible exit is the foundation of most of these transactions."

Gino Tabila

Associate Director

Benefits of Using a Private Mortgage Lender for Trust Commercial Property Loans

Family trusts holding commercial property often find bank credit models poorly suited to their structure. A private mortgage lender works with the trust deed and the trustee entity rather than against it — assessing the deal on the property value and exit strategy, not on whether the trust income distribution pattern fits a bank's serviceability template.

• •Discretionary and unit trusts both eligible — no blanket trust structure restrictions
• •Trust deed reviewed as part of the assessment, not used as a reason to decline
• •Loan structured to the trustee entity with appropriate documentation
• •Settlement within 24 to 72 hours — no extended processing for complex entity structures
• •Asset-first credit decision — trust income variability does not drive approval

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