Who I Help · Trust and Company Investors
Investment finance for trust and company investors.
Your accountant has set up the structure. The job is finding lenders who'll lend to it on terms that actually work. Trust loans, company loans and SMSF lending each have their own lender pool, their own quirks, and their own pricing. The structure decision is your accountant's. The lender decision is mine.
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Rebecca Tickner
Finance Broker · Property Investor
The Context
What I see come up most often.
Trust and company structures are common among scaled investors, particularly those with concerns about asset protection, tax planning across beneficiaries, or building a portfolio that can pass between generations. The structure decisions sit firmly with your accountant or financial planner. They're not finance broking decisions.
What is a finance broking decision is which lender will lend to whichever structure you're using, and on what terms. Not all lenders accept trust or company borrowers. Of those that do, the policies vary considerably. Some require the trustee to guarantee personally. Some have tighter LVR caps for trust loans than for personal loans. Some price trust loans at a premium. Others are happy to lend at the same rate.
I work alongside accountants and SMSF specialists, not in their seat. The structure brief comes from them. The loan structure that fits the brief is what I bring.
The Specifics
The structural and lender considerations I'd look at for you.
Lender appetite for trust borrowers
Mainstream lenders mostly accept discretionary family trusts. Some have tighter rules for hybrid trusts and unit trusts. Companies as borrowers narrow the pool further. SMSF lending narrows it more again, and uses a separate Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement structure. Knowing which lenders are open to your specific structure today is the first lender selection question.
Trustee personal guarantees
Most trust loans require the trustees (and often beneficiaries who are adult and benefiting) to provide a personal guarantee. The bank is lending to the trust but holding the natural persons accountable if the trust defaults. This is standard. Whether the guarantee is full or limited, and how it interacts with personal serviceability for future loans, varies by lender.
Serviceability inside the structure
Trust serviceability assesses both the trust's rental income and the personal income of the beneficiaries who guarantee. The calculation is more conservative than a personal investment loan. Some lenders use stress tests up to a full percentage point higher for trust borrowers. The starting borrowing capacity for a trust is generally lower than for the same applicant borrowing in their own name.
Distribution patterns and lookback periods
Lenders look at the trust's distribution pattern over the past 1-2 years to determine which beneficiaries the income flows to. Erratic distribution patterns or recent changes in distribution can complicate the assessment. If the structure is being used for the first major loan, expect more scrutiny on the trust deed and the tax returns.
Pricing and product availability
Trust and company loans are often available on similar pricing to personal investment loans, but not always. Some lenders apply a 0.10-0.30% premium for the trust structure. Some restrict product features (offset, redraw, IO periods) for trust borrowers. The right lender for the structure may not be the cheapest lender in the market.
When the structure makes sense versus when it doesn't
Trusts and companies offer asset protection and distribution flexibility. They also add complexity, cost (annual accounting fees) and tighter lending. Whether the trade-off is worthwhile depends entirely on your situation, and the answer comes from your accountant. I won't advise on whether to use a trust. I'll model the lending side of either path so you have real numbers to take to that conversation.
Common Questions
Frequently asked.
Will mainstream lenders lend to my family trust?
Most major banks and many non-banks accept discretionary family trusts as borrowers, with the trustee and adult beneficiaries providing personal guarantees. Hybrid trusts, unit trusts and bare trusts have a smaller lender pool. SMSFs use a separate LRBA structure with its own narrow lender list.
Can I use a company as the borrower?
Yes, and some investors do for asset-protection or operational reasons. The lender pool is smaller and pricing may be slightly higher. Director guarantees are standard. Whether company ownership is the right structure for residential property investment is a question for your accountant.
How is my borrowing capacity calculated for a trust loan?
Lenders look at the trust's rental income (often haircut to 75-80% of gross), the personal income of the guarantors, and existing debts of both the trust and the guarantors. Serviceability is generally tighter than a personal loan, with some lenders applying higher stress test rates.
Should I set up a trust before buying my first property?
That's an accountant's decision, not a broker's. There are real benefits to the right trust structure for the right investor. There are real costs too. The decision should be made before the first purchase if the structure suits you, because changing structures later usually means selling and re-buying with full stamp duty implications.
Can I have one loan in my personal name and another in a trust?
Yes. Many investors hold their owner-occupied home in personal names and use a trust for investment properties. Some hold all investment properties in one trust; others use multiple trusts. The structure matrix is your accountant's call. The lending matrix is mine.
Structure sits with your accountant. Loans sit with me. We work in parallel, and the lending side is built around whatever structural answer makes sense for your situation.
Written & reviewed by
Rebecca Tickner
Finance Broker, Maxfin · Diploma of Finance & Mortgage Broking Management (FNS50322) · ASIC Credit Rep 571611 · MFAA Member
I built a seven-property portfolio with my partner. I structure clients' finance the same way I run mine.
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