SMSF Loans
Acquire property through your self- managed super fund – an investment vehicle that can help you prepare for retirement.
Why Choose Centrum?
More than 3,000 Australians trust us to finance their futures.
Strategic Approach
Most brokers focus on mortgages with the lowest rates and the fastest approvals.
Our approach combines a strategic approach with a long-term outlook – how will a loan support your life objectives today, tomorrow, and in ten years?
Client Advocacy
You deserve the opportunity to build your tomorrow – regardless of your credit score or financial history.
Our lending specialists act as your advocates, working to source financing that supports your dream.
Lender Diversity
A small lending panel can restrict your choice of mortgages.
We proudly partner with over 40 bank and non-bank lenders, giving you access to a genuinely diverse range of products.
Ongoing Assessments
Your repayments don’t stop after settlement – and neither does our relationship.
We conduct semi-annual portfolio reviews, which can help you access reduced repayments and better features.
We’re recognised by Australia’s largest aggregator and largest bank
Find Your Lending Scenario
SMSF Loans for Residential Properties
Acquire a residential property through your self-managed super fund – the return profile of real estate, within superannuation.
SMSF Loans for commercial Properties
Buy retail spaces, office buildings, hospitality venues, and other commercial property through your SMSF.
Acquire an Agricultural Property
Primary production land is excepted from owner-occupation rules – you can acquire it through your SMSF, and, under the right conditions, both live and work on it.
Refinance Your SMSF Loan
Move on from a high-interest legacy loan. SMSF refinancing can help you save thousands in annual repayments – and benefit from accrued equity.
TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FUTURE
Bid farewell to the limitations of traditional super funds and hello to more possibilities with an SMSF
Take charge of your retirement. With complete control over your investments and tax strategy, you can optimise your returns and secure your financial future.
Loan Application Process
Schedule a 30-minute consultation with one of our lending specialists.
We’ll discuss your current financial circumstances, long-term objectives, and property ownership expectations.
You submit your financial information to your Centrum lending specialist.
Once we’ve analysed your submission and assessed your borrowing capacity, we’ll consult our lending partners.
We may schedule another meeting with you to discuss your borrowing options or request further information.
We present all viable loan options to you, modelling the financial outcomes of each one over different timeframes.
Once you understand which one is the most effective financing pathway for your future, we’ll prepare your loan application.
You review and sign your finalised loan application.
We’ll then submit your application for approval to the lender you’ve chosen.
If your application is successful, your lender issues conditional approval or pre-approval.
Once you’ve found a property you want to buy, your lender will employ a valuer to inspect the property. If they’re satisfied with the property’s risk level, they’ll issue unconditional approval.
Following unconditional approval, you receive a loan offer document.
This includes a contract that you need to sign.
You can ask your Centrum specialist to explain the contract’s terms, or have your solicitor formally review it on your behalf.
Once your contract is signed, your lender advances the loan.
You can purchase your property and take possession of the certificate of title.
After settlement, we walk you through the repayment process (including your repayment schedule) and answer any questions you have.
We’ll also conduct refinancing checks every six months across your loan’s life.
If the market or your financial circumstances change, we’ll help you switch to a better-fit product as quickly as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
SMSFs can only borrow money in very specific circumstances. One of those is a limited recourse borrowing arrangement (LRBA).
An LRBA can be used to borrow money for a single acquirable asset, which can be one asset (such as a property) or a collection of fungible assets (that is, assets that are identical and have the same market value, such as shares in the same company).
You can’t use an LRBA to borrow cash. It also can’t be used for asset improvements, such as a construction loan.
An SMSF can acquire property under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement (LRBA). Under an LRBA, the SMSF’s trustee can borrow money from a lender to buy a property (just like a normal investment property loan).
The property will then be purchased and held by a separate trust wholly controlled by the SMSF. This protects the SMSF’s other assets – if the loan defaults, the lender won’t have access to them.
The Big Four and most large Australian banks don’t offer SMSF loans. Following the Financial Services Royal Commission of 2017–2019, many traditional lenders exited the SMSF lending space due to the increased compliance risk. While existing borrowers continued to hold SMSF loans with those institutions, those legacy loans were ‘grandfathered’ – that is, unable to be refinanced with the lender in question. Because other refinancing options were minimal, many SMSF borrowers became trapped into paying artificially high rates.
Today, more lenders have entered the SMSF lending space. Non-bank lenders, in particular, have different regulatory requirements to large banks, which means they have more appetite for limited recourse lending.
Self-managed super funds are different to other types of trusts. Under s 62 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth), they’re legally required to meet the sole purpose test: they can only be used to provide retirement benefits to members. In other words, you can’t use your SMSF to benefit you or a related party (such as a friend or relative).
A property, such as a house, can be rented out – but not to you or someone you know. Your SMSF also can’t sell property to or buy it from related parties.
There are some exceptions:
- Receiving a non-retirement benefit is unavoidable.
- The benefit is remote, isolated or insignificant.
- The benefit is provided on arm’s length commercial terms.
Your SMSF can buy commercial property from and sell or rent it to a related party. The only requirement is that all transactions take place at ‘arm’s length’ – that is, the rent or price is at market value – and that the commercial property is wholly and exclusively used for business purposes. If you bought a commercial shop, for example, you could lease it to your or a family member’s business.
It’s also worth noting that your SMSF can own a property used in a primary production business even if:
- The property has a domestic/private dwelling
- That dwelling is surrounded by an area that is used for domestic/private purposes (provided the area doesn’t exceed two hectares).
The property must still be predominantly used for primary production, but you or a related party can live on or privately use it too.
In sum: before retirement, you can’t live in a house owned by your SMSF unless that house is on a property that meets the primary production exception.
Access Fully Featured SMSF Loans
Historically, SMSF borrowers had limited choices.
Today, though, the lending landscape has changed – dozens of second-tier and non-bank lenders offer SMSF financing.
Standard loan features, such as interest-only repayments, redraw facilities, and bad-credit loans at up to 80% LVR, are all available from our SMSF lending partners.
Talk to one of our lending specialists to find out exactly what your SMSF loan could look like – features, repayments, and long-term financial outcomes.
Rent Your Investment Property to Your Business
The regulations around SMSF property are incredibly strict.
You and related parties, like friends or family, can’t live on or derive other benefits from property owned by your fund.
There are exceptions, though – such as renting a fund-owned commercial property to your business on arm’s length terms.
For small business owners, SMSF-held commercial property can be incredibly tax-efficient:
The rent paid by your business is retained by your SMSF, but taxed at the fund’s concessional rate instead of your business’s income tax rate.
Talk to one of our SMSF specialists to learn more about commercial property financing options.
Customer focused
End-to-End Service
Expert Guidance
Industry Knowledge
