SMSF Loans
Grow your retirement nest egg with property

How will my borrowing capacity be assessed?

Working out how much you can borrow depends on how you can prove that there is sufficient income in your self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) to support the loan.

Typically, the banks will look at the current income of the trust based on its previous two years tax returns and will then assess if that income plus the proposed rental income will be sufficient to service the debt.

Some lenders can also use the income of members or beneficiaries of the SMSF to support the application if a personal guarantee is provided.

Can I get reduced interest rates?

It really depends on the lender you apply with. There are large differences in pricing between the major lenders.

Not many lenders offer SMSF loans and more lenders have pulled out over the years due to the complexity of the loan structure.

In this highly-specialised space, your choice of lender is more limited than it is for standard residential loans.

However, you can still get a great deal and you’re likely to pay a significantly higher rate if you only talk to your current bank.

When is an SMSF allowed to borrow money?

Generally speaking:

• The asset must be an asset the SMSF could otherwise legally acquire (if it had the funds).
• The asset must be held in the SMSF trust using a security trust (known as a security custodian).
• The SMSF needs to acquire a beneficial interest in the asset from the outset.
• The SMSF has the right to acquire legal title from the security trustee upon making all loan repayments.
• The lender must only have limited recourse (limited recourse borrowing arrangement) against the purchased asset and cannot claim any other assets in the fund in the event of default.
• Each borrowing arrangement can only be for a “single acquirable asset”. In the case of strata title or subdivisions, each title is considered a separate asset.