Private lending in Melbourne and Victoria

Melbourne has a deep, diverse property market and a huge small business community, from inner-city hospitality to outer-suburban manufacturing and logistics. Many owners have built significant equity over time. When a bank can’t move quickly enough, or doesn’t like the shape of a deal, private lending against that property fills the gap.

Melbourne property as security

Property	Typical lender view
Houses across established suburbs	Widely accepted
Townhouses and units in smaller complexes	Widely accepted
CBD and Southbank apartments	Assessed building by building, sometimes lower limits
Warehouses in the west and south-east	Strong demand and sales evidence
Shops on established strips	Accepted, with attention to tenancy
Growth-corridor homes	Accepted, with attention to recent comparable sales

Parts of the inner-city apartment market have seen oversupply, so lenders can be more cautious with very small units in large towers. Standard apartments in well-run buildings are generally fine.

How Victorian titles work

Victorian land is registered with Land Use Victoria. Mortgages and caveats are lodged electronically. As in other states, a caveat can protect a lender’s interest quickly, while a registered mortgage provides the formal security. Victoria uses its own forms and legislation, which the lender’s solicitor handles.

State charges in Victoria

Victoria has a range of property-related taxes, and lenders check them carefully because unpaid amounts can create charges over the land. These include land tax on investment and commercial property, council rates and certain other state levies. If any are overdue, a lender will usually require them to be paid from the loan at settlement. Your accountant can confirm what applies to your property.

What Melbourne owners borrow for

• clearing ATO debts and avoiding director penalty notices
• manufacturing and logistics businesses funding equipment or stock
• hospitality businesses funding fit-outs or second venues
• construction and trade businesses bridging progress payments
• buying commercial or industrial premises before a bank can approve
• bridging between properties during a move

Working with us from interstate

Victorian deals are handled exactly like Queensland ones, just with a Victorian valuer and Victorian legal documents. You’ll deal with our desk by phone and email, verify your ID electronically, sign with your own solicitor and settle electronically. There’s no need to travel.

Regional Victoria

We also arrange loans against property in Geelong and the Surf Coast, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton, the Latrobe Valley, the Mornington Peninsula, the Yarra Valley and Gippsland. Larger centres value quickly. Smaller towns and rural holdings take longer and may attract lower limits.

Where we see Melbourne deals

• inner suburbs including Fitzroy, Collingwood, Richmond and South Melbourne
• the west, including Footscray, Sunshine, Laverton and Truganina
• the north, including Brunswick, Coburg, Thomastown and Epping
• the south-east, including Dandenong, Clayton, Moorabbin and Braeside
• the east, including Box Hill, Ringwood and Bayswater
• growth corridors such as Tarneit, Craigieburn, Clyde and Officer

Industrial demand in Melbourne

Melbourne’s west and south-east hold some of the largest industrial precincts in Australia, and warehouse demand has stayed firm. Freehold sheds and industrial units in Truganina, Laverton, Dandenong South and Braeside attract strong interest from lenders because comparable sales are frequent and resale is relatively easy. Owners who bought these properties a decade or more ago often hold considerable equity.

A worked example

A Dandenong South plastics manufacturer needed $900,000 to buy a second moulding line and fund the raw materials for a new contract. The bank wanted audited accounts that wouldn’t be ready for three months. The owners held their freehold factory and their homes.

A private lender took a first mortgage over the factory alone, valued at about $2.4 million, leaving both homes untouched. The loan settled in nine business days. The term was twelve months, and once the accounts were finalised, the bank refinanced the private loan.

Timing in Victoria

Melbourne valuers are readily available and electronic settlement is standard, so timing is similar to Brisbane. For a standard property and a complete file, $20,000 to $250,000 can possibly settle the same day, and larger amounts within 24 to 48 hours. The steps that most often slow a Victorian deal are the same as anywhere: waiting on a first mortgagee’s payout figure or consent, co-owners who aren’t available to sign, and missing ID. Line those up on the first day and the rest tends to follow quickly.

Before you enquire

Have your latest home loan statement, a recent council rates notice and, for investment property, your land tax assessment to hand. Those three documents answer most of a lender’s early questions about a Victorian property.

Start your Victorian enquiry

Tell us the property, what’s owed and what you need. There’s no credit check when you first enquire, and your file stays with our desk. Please answer accurately, so we can match you to the right lender first time. Check your eligibility, or read about commercial and industrial security and then start your enquiry.