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Commercial property lending, structured for the way you own it

Considered lending for business owners buying premises and investors building portfolios.

AAA Mortgages was built on commercial finance and has advised business owners and investors on complex lending since 1988. Commercial property sits at the centre of that work: offices, retail, industrial, childcare, hospitality, accommodation, strata and mixed-use, whether you are buying the premises you operate from or building a portfolio. Commercial deals are assessed on the strength of the structure and the income the asset produces, rather than a payslip, then priced and structured to match. That is the read we have built our name on since day one.

When business owners and investors come to us

01.

OWNER-OCCUPIED

You are buying the premises your business operates from, and the ownership structure matters as much as the loan

02.

GROWING PORTFOLIO

You hold, or are building, a portfolio of commercial assets across companies or trusts, or continuing investments in property and moving towards commercial

03.

INDUSTRY MISMATCH

Your bank has declined or slowed down because it does not understand your industry or your structure

04.

STRUCTURE REVIEW

You are refinancing commercial debt and suspect the current structure is costing you

Structure first, lender second

01.

The ownership structure leads

We start with how the property should be owned, not which loan to apply for. Company, trust, personal names or a combination, each changes how lenders assess the deal and how the asset sits in your broader affairs. We work alongside your accountant so the lending supports the structure they have advised.

02.

The right lender for the asset

AAA is accredited across banks, non-bank lenders and private credit, with access to over 40 lenders. An industrial warehouse with a strong lease, a strata office and an owner-occupied retail site each suit different funders, and we advise on that fit before you commit to a price.

03.

The deal, presented properly

Commercial credit teams assess lease terms, tenant strength and business financials, not just a payslip. We build the application the way a credit team needs to read it, which is often the difference between a decline on policy and an approval on the deal's actual merits.

04.

Beyond settlement
 

The loan gets reviewed as your business and portfolio grow, not filed and forgotten. Our commercial clients tend to come back for the second, third and fourth property, because the structure set up on the first one was built for the ones after it.

Modern Office Space

What commercial property lending actually involves

Commercial property lending is finance secured against property used for business or investment purposes, offices, retail, industrial, strata and mixed-use, assessed on the income the asset and its owner generate rather than on personal salary alone.

How assessment differs:

Lenders look at the lease in place, the strength of the tenant and the financials of the borrowing entity. Loan terms are generally shorter than residential and gearing more conservative, which is why the same borrower can look strong to one lender and marginal to another.

Owner-occupier or investor:

A business buying its own premises is assessed on its trading performance. An investor is assessed on the lease income the asset produces. The two paths suit different lenders and different structures, and plenty of borrowers are both at once across their portfolio. Learn more about owning commercial property within your SMSF here

Your contribution:

Commercial lending generally requires a larger contribution than residential. How much depends on the asset type, the lease and the lender's appetite, which is why knowing the lender fit before you negotiate the purchase protects both your deposit and your bargaining position.

Where advice earns its keep:

The loan product is the last decision, not the first. Ownership structure, lender selection and how the deal is presented all get decided before an application exists, and they determine more of the outcome than the rate on the term sheet does.

Common questions

Recent work

Recent scenarios, anonymised but real: what the client came with, what made it complex, and how it was structured. This is what advisory-led lending looks like in practice.

Construction Site Workers

SMSF · QLD

SMSF · QLD

Business owners purchasing their commercial premises through an SMSF. Lease expired, vendor deadline imminent. Previous lender unable to move in time.​

Approved and settled on deadline

Dinner in Restaurant

SMSF · QLD

SMSF · QLD

Business owners purchasing their commercial premises through an SMSF. Lease expired, vendor deadline imminent. Previous lender unable to move in time.​

Approved and settled on deadline

Man in Minimal Space

SMSF · QLD

SMSF · QLD

Business owners purchasing their commercial premises through an SMSF. Lease expired, vendor deadline imminent. Previous lender unable to move in time.​

Approved and settled on deadline

Tell us about the property

Bring us the asset, the structure you hold it in, or the one your accountant has suggested, and where the deal is at. You will hear back within two hours with a personal response, not an auto-reply, and the structuring conversation starts from there.

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