Dental practice property finance

Ardent Capital Group brings the same method to every client: execution and strategy, clear advice for smart lending, and long-term growth. That means the right lender, structure and timing, straight advice so you borrow with confidence, and today's deal built toward where you want to be tomorrow. We are specialists in helping business owners secure finance to purchase their own property, and we understand the complex structures that often sit around it, including multiple trusts, holding companies and self-managed super funds. A dental surgery has its own way of trading, so we build the mortgage on those terms and place it with lenders who treat owner-occupied surgery property fairly, whether you are buying for the first time or refinancing what you hold. The team stays with you long past settlement, ready as the practice grows or the next premises comes into play. Every figure is subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

Going direct to your bank means one set of lending criteria and one answer. Dental surgeries are a niche asset, and not every lender extends its medical lending package to recognised AHPRA dentists or values a specialised fit-out fairly. A specialist broker knows which lenders actively want dental borrowers, what their credit appetite looks like right now, and how to present the practice cash flow and registration so it gets approved. You get the lenders that fit how you trade, so you do not have to knock on every door, rather than working through a list and collecting unnecessary declines.

Recognised dental professionals can typically access owner-occupier LVRs up to 80%, and specialist healthcare lenders will fund up to 100% on the practice property alone, without taking your home. Investment dental buildings usually sit between 65% and 70%, and an SMSF purchase caps at 65% to 75%. The exact figure depends on your file, so talk to us.

In many cases, yes, though the premises and the fit-out are usually funded on two different structures. Some lenders will capitalise part of a fixed fit-out into the commercial property loan, spread over the term at property rates. The depreciating equipment, your chairs, CBCT, OPG, compressor and suction plant, sterilisers and CAD/CAM mill, generally sits better on a separate chattel mortgage or equipment finance so it stays off the property security. A dental fit-out commonly runs $300,000 to $700,000 or more, so planning the funding from the start avoids tying up cash you need for stock and staffing.

A dental surgery is valued as standard commercial property for the bricks and mortar, but the fit-out is valued well below what it cost you. Valuers discount the lead-lined X-ray room, plumbed chairs, compressor and suction plant and imaging alcoves because little of it transfers to another buyer, so a $500,000 fit-out may add far less to the assessed value. That is why the equipment is usually financed separately and the goodwill is kept on its own loan. We factor this conservative valuation into the structure before we approach a lender.

For a straightforward owner-occupier surgery purchase, most clients receive indicative terms within 48 hours of our first conversation, with formal approval usually following in about 3 to 6 weeks through a major bank, or 2 to 4 weeks with a non-bank lender. Service-trust structures, SMSF purchases and multi-dentist buildings take longer because there are more moving parts to assess. We give you a realistic timeline upfront so your purchase schedule stays intact.

For a full-doc application, most lenders require two to three years of practice financial statements and tax returns, personal tax returns for all guarantors, and the contract of sale or expression of interest. If the buyer is a service trust, partnership or company, the relevant deed or constitution and its financials are also needed. Many dentists, particularly those billing through a service trust or recently out of study, do not fit a standard full-doc assessment, so non-bank lenders offer alt-doc and low-doc options where income is evidenced through an accountant's declaration, BAS statements or bank statements. These come with slightly higher rates but open the door for borrowers whose paperwork understates what they earn. We work through your income situation upfront and identify whether a full-doc, alt-doc or low-doc approach is the right fit for you.

Owner-occupier finance is used when your own dental practice occupies the surgery. Lenders assess the practice income and your registration alongside the property and offer recognised dental borrowers LVRs up to 80%. Investment finance is used when you buy a dental or medical building to lease to other practitioners, where lenders focus on the rent roll, lease terms and tenant quality. Investment LVRs are typically lower, usually between 65% and 70%, and short leases or a single-tenant vacancy can be harder to finance.

Yes, it is possible, and we arrange these. It is also one of the more intricate purchases in commercial finance, and the detail is what decides whether it works. The fund borrows under a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, so the surgery sits in a separate holding trust and the lender can only come after that one property. From 10 August 2026 a new arrangement can only be used for business real property: a property trading wholly as a business generally qualifies, a property with a residence attached generally does not. Your practice leases the surgery back from the fund, in writing, at market rent supported by an independent appraisal, and the rent has to actually be paid. SMSF lending caps well below a standard purchase, so the fund provides its own deposit and the full-price funding available outside super does not apply here. Cross-collateralisation is not available inside super either. Lenders cap SMSF lending below a standard purchase, generally between 65% and 75%, and want cash left in the fund after settlement. We know this sounds complicated. It is, and that is exactly why we do it every day. Reach out to our team and we will guide you through the entire process. We structure the finance, tell you which lenders will take a dental surgery as SMSF security and on what terms, and bring in the SMSF specialists and licensed advisers who set the fund side up. You will not be working it out on your own. Get that right and it is a solid, compliant structure.

Yes. Group dental practices commonly buy premises as tenants-in-common while billing through a shared service trust or service company. The structure is assessed differently from a single-borrower loan, so lenders review the partnership agreement or trust deed, the financial position of each dentist, and how the loan would be serviced if one partner sold down or exited. We have experience presenting service-trust and partnership structures to lenders clearly, and we know which lenders are most comfortable with this type of borrower.

Often, yes. A decline from your bank does not mean the purchase is not fundable. Banks have rigid credit policies, and a specialised dental fit-out or a service-trust structure does not always fit neatly within them. Non-bank lenders and specialist medical financiers assess these differently, and sometimes a structuring or presentation issue is all that stood between you and an approval. We will give you an honest assessment of what is possible before proceeding.

Most of the time, no. We are paid a commission by the lender once your loan settles, so there is no cost to you. Where your financials are complex, your structure is unusual, or the purchase requires significant preparation before it can go to a lender, we may charge a small mandate fee depending on the complexity. We will always be upfront about this before any work begins.

Although we are based in Sydney, we service clients across all major Australian cities, including Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart, along with their surrounding regional areas. Wherever your dental practice premises are located, we can arrange your finance.

Although our main speciality is property loans for business owners, we also assist with dental equipment finance and working capital for dental practices. On asset finance, that covers dental chairs, CBCT and OPG imaging, compressor and suction plant, autoclaves and sterilisers, and CAD/CAM mills. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cash-flow funding to cover staff wages, consumables, lab bills, and the cost of opening or expanding a practice.

Yes. That is our core ethos, helping you understand the right strategy, structure and clear advice from the very first conversation. Our main borrower profiles are established dentists and practice owners seeking finance from $100,000 upwards for their company, so a first commercial loan is well within our wheelhouse. Smaller sole-trader and consumer-style ABN lending sits outside our field.