Meet David
We had a chat with David and asked him about his experience buying a commercial property using his SMSF, the challenges he encountered along the way and how loans.com.au helped him navigate the lending process.
Background
David had been interested in commercial property investment for some time. With several residential investment properties already in his portfolio, he wanted to explore a different type of investment as part of his longer-term retirement planning.
After looking into his options, David decided to purchase a commercial property through his SMSF. He was attracted to the potential income offered by commercial property and wanted to take a more hands-on role in managing his superannuation investments. He spent around one to two months searching before finding a property in an area of Sydney he already knew well.
The property was an established ground-floor retail office in an older building, with an existing professional services tenant already occupying the premises. David also liked the surrounding location, which was already busy and had further development planned nearby.
When it came time to arrange finance, loans.com.au was a natural place for David to start.
“I already have a few investment properties with loans.com.au, so I thought I’d give them a go first,” he said.
“I’d already had a good experience with loans.com.au for my residential investment properties, which is why I approached them for the SMSF commercial property loan”
Challenges
- Buying commercial property through an SMSF involved more legal, administrative and documentation requirements than David’s previous residential property purchases.
- The existing lease arrangement did not meet the requirements of a standard commercial lease, which delayed the process.
- David sometimes found it difficult to obtain clear information from selling agents about rents, expenses and net returns while searching for a suitable property.
Solutions
- David worked through the SMSF lending process step by step with support from his professional advisers and the loans.com.au team.
- The lease issue was addressed through discussions and amendments so the purchase could continue.
- David could apply directly without using a broker
- David used his familiarity with the local area and his own property research to help assess the investment opportunity.
How was your loans.com.au experience?
“Buying a commercial property through my SMSF was definitely a step up from buying residential property.
“The loans.com.au team were helpful throughout. They called me back, followed things through and, if I didn’t understand something, they explained it to me.
“I’d already had a good experience with loans.com.au for my residential investment properties, which is why I approached them for the SMSF commercial property loan. The team were helpful, followed things through and helped me get the deal over the line.”
loans.com.au customer?
If you’re a loans.com.au customer and would like to be featured, we’d love to hear from you! Send us an email at community@loans.com.au and we’ll get in touch.
