Thinking of moving from resi to commercial property in WA?

Commercial property is having a real moment in WA, and plenty of investors are realising it is more within reach than they thought. As residential gets harder to make stack up, a well-chosen commercial property can pay its own way and build serious wealth. The finance is different to a home loan, and here is the good news: it is often more accessible than you expect. This is how it works, from the deposit to using your equity to what lenders love to see.

Why are WA investors getting excited about commercial property?

Residential investing leans hard on capital growth. When growth slows, the holding costs still roll in every month.Commercial turns that around. You buy it for the rent, and a good property can be positively geared from the start.That is why so many WA investors who cut their teeth on residential are now excited about commercial. It is the natural next step when you are ready to make your money work harder.

Picking the right asset is a job for you and your buyer’s agent. Lining up the finance, and making it easy, is ours. That is where the rest of this guide comes in.

How is commercial property finance different from a home loan?

A home loan leans on your income and the property’s value. A commercial loan leans on the strength of the deal.Lenders look at the rent coming in, the tenant paying it, and how easily the property would re-let. That is good news when you have a solid tenant on a decent lease. With the right lender you can often reach a loan-to-value ratio, or LVR, of up to 80%. And we sometimes have options that go further depending on the situation. Here is how the two compare.

How much deposit do you really need for a commercial property in WA?

Here is the encouraging part.A standard, well-located, well-tenanted property, think a tidy office, a retail shop or an industrial unit, attracts the strongest LVRs. A specialised building asks a bit more. Childcare, hospitality, rural sheds and small-town commercial carry more risk for a lender, so the LVR eases back and the deposit climbs.

This is exactly where a good broker changes the game. We have a 60-plus lender panel, and the gap between the most and least generous on a given commercial deal is huge. We know who leans into your type of property and your location, and that is often the difference between a yes and a no. For more on the deposit side, our commercial property deposit guide goes deeper.

Can you use your home equity to get into commercial property?

This is the route a lot of WA investors take into their first commercial property, and it is a cracker.Instead of saving a big cash deposit, you put the equity you already hold to work. The lending is structured across your existing property and the new one, so your savings can stay where they are. It just needs setting up carefully, and that is our job. The same thinking is covered in our guide on using home equity to buy an investment property in WA.

Commercial property is bought for income, and that is what makes it exciting. Get the tenant and the lease right, and the rent can cover the loan and still leave you ahead. The finance is built around the strength of the deal, which is good news when the deal is a good one.

What do lenders look for on a commercial deal?

On a commercial deal, the quality of the income matters as much as the property.A well-known tenant on a long lease gives a lender real confidence. The rent will keep rolling in, and that works in your favour. A shorter lease or a niche building asks a bit more of you, but it is rarely a dead end. The trick is knowing how a given deal will land before you commit, and that is exactly what we tell you up front.

What does it cost, and how do you get started?

The upfront costs beyond the deposit

Two costs are worth knowing early. The first is transfer duty. In WA the general rate applies to commercial property, and the first-home concessions do not.You can estimate it on the WA transfer duty page and its calculator. The second is GST. The sale of commercial premises is generally liable for GST. But it can often be managed, for example where the property sells as a going concern. A GST-registered buyer can usually claim the credit back.The detail is on the ATO’s commercial premises page, and it is one to run past your accountant early.

Getting started

Here is how easy it is to get moving:

1. Have a chat with us about the property and your goals.
2. We check how lenders will view the deal and what LVR you can reach.
3. We look at using your equity, so you may need little cash up front.
4. We compare the 60-plus panel and line up the lender that leans into your deal.
5. We map the full cost picture, deposit, duty and GST, so there are no surprises.
6. You make your move with confidence, and we handle the finance end to end.

Commercial property is well within reach for more WA investors than ever, and the finance is the part we make easy. Tell us the deal you are looking at. We will line it up across our panel and point you to our business lending options where they fit. Get in touch and let’s get you moving.