Home loan specialists for business owners

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. For business owners the difference is that commercial property is our main speciality, so we are reading your business and your home as one position rather than two. That is what lets us tell you what a facility on one side costs you on the other, and what order to do things in. Every figure is subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

Because the same lenders assess both, off the same financial statements and tax returns. To them your position is one picture. A facility drawn for the business reduces what a lender will advance for a home, and a guarantee counts against your capacity even where the debt sits in an entity rather than in your own name. That does not stop you buying; it changes the number. It only becomes a problem when nobody mentions it until the application.

Across our lending we arrange finance from $50K up to $30M, and home loans sit within that range, including prestige purchases that fall outside standard bank policy. Your borrowing capacity comes down to income, existing commitments and the property itself.

A distribution from a discretionary trust generally needs a consistent history before a lender will treat it as your income, and the entity accounts have to reconcile with what is being claimed. Where income moves through several entities, the line back to you needs to be clear on the face of the documents. We present how the lending works around the structure you already have. How you hold things is a decision for you and your accountant.

They are legitimate expenses subtracted for tax that a lender adds back when working out what you can service, which lifts your recognised income above the taxable figure. Depreciation is the most common and often the largest, along with one-off costs, superannuation contributions beyond the compulsory rate, and interest on debt being refinanced. Which ones a lender accepts varies, and none of them count unless they are identified and evidenced properly. This is frequently where two assessments of the same business diverge.

Yes, through alt-doc lending, which assesses income from business activity statements, business bank statements or an accountant’s declaration instead of full financials. Trading history expectations vary: commonly two years at the majors, twelve months at second-tier lenders, and less at some specialists where you have prior experience in the same field and a larger deposit. Alt-doc generally carries a rate premium and a lower maximum, so we treat it as a bridge and plan the refinance onto standard terms at the same time.

This is common in a growing business and there are documented ways to address it. More recent business activity statements, year-to-date management accounts and an accountant’s letter can all evidence current trading where the lodged returns lag behind. Not every lender will look at it, which is precisely the point: the lender chosen decides whether the current year counts or the old one does.

Not necessarily. Settle it deliberately rather than by default. Business lending can be secured over the business itself through a general security agreement, registered on the personal property securities register, which leaves your home outside the arrangement. Offering the home is usually the easiest option at the time and the most costly later: once attached, selling or refinancing it becomes a conversation with two lenders for as long as the facility runs.

It is one way of doing it, and you should understand the cost before you agree to it. Crossing two securities can lift what you borrow in the moment, and it ties both properties to one lender, so selling or refinancing either becomes a negotiation involving both. Keeping them separate preserves your ability to move, which is frequently worth more over time than the extra borrowed today. We will set out both positions with real numbers so the choice is an informed one.

It is reachable, and the mechanism differs by side. For a home, 100% comes from bringing additional security to the file: a family member offering their own property, or equity added from a property you already own. For a commercial purchase, up to 100% of the price is achievable where you add equity from a property you already own. In both cases your income still has to service the whole loan.

It depends on your position rather than a general rule. Decide it rather than letting it happen. Buying the home first is often cleaner, because capacity is at its highest before a commercial facility exists. Buying the premises first can be the better move where rent is substantial, since the rent you stop paying is added back when serviceability is tested. We model both sequences with real figures so you can see what each costs the other.

Yes, and it is the larger part of what we do. It is a commercial purchase assessed on the building and the lease rather than on your household, with different lenders, deposits and terms from a home loan. The tab above lists the property categories we arrange finance across. Because both sides draw on the same financials, arranging them together means the sequence can be planned rather than discovered.

Yes, and it is often the cheapest capital available to a business owner. It is also the most consequential to commit, because it ties your home to the business result and limits how freely you can sell or refinance later. There are structures that keep the two apart, and there are times when using home equity is plainly the right call. What we will not do is let you commit to it without setting out what it costs you in flexibility.

Not once it is presented properly. A modest wage alongside retained profits or distributions is an ordinary structure, and lenders that understand business owners look through to the whole picture rather than the payslip. The accounts, the returns and the claimed income have to reconcile, and retained profits and director loans are explained rather than left for a credit assessor to interpret.

Generally: two years of business financial statements and tax returns, two years of personal returns and notices of assessment, recent business activity statements, identification, and statements for existing debts including business facilities. Where a trust or company is involved, add the entity accounts and the trust deed, plus details of any guarantee you have given. Where we are going alt-doc, the list is shorter and we will tell you exactly what it is.

Pre-approval commonly comes through within a few days once the documents are together, though business owner files take longer to assemble than salaried ones. Full approval after you have found a property depends on the lender and the valuation. The assembly is the slow part, which is a good reason to start before you are house hunting rather than during.

In most cases our service does not cost you anything. We are paid by the lender once your loan settles, so you get the comparison across more than 40 lenders and the management of the process at no charge. If anything unusual applies to your situation, we will be upfront about it 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 in Australia you are buying, we can arrange your home loan.

Commercial property for business owners is our main speciality, so alongside your home loan we arrange finance to buy the premises you trade from, across medical, office, retail, industrial, hospitality and automotive property. We also arrange working capital, equipment and fit-out finance, and funding for business acquisitions.

No. Arranging finance and advising on financial products are two different disciplines, and we do the first. What we bring is the credit analysis lenders require, the structuring of the facility, and the strategy for putting your application in front of lenders whose appetite matches it.

Because we act as a credit representative under an Australian Credit Licence, we do not give financial product, superannuation, taxation or legal advice, and nothing we provide should be taken as such. Where your circumstances need that input, we are happy to work with your accountant, financial adviser and solicitor to understand the full picture before anything is submitted.

The information on this page is general in nature and does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs.