Refinance your self storage property

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. On a storage refinance the work is in the operating figures, because the value is a capitalisation of what the site earns and a lender that reaches for comparable sales will get it wrong. We present the curve properly, place the file with someone who reads it, and stay with it past drawdown. Every figure is subject to serviceability, lender appetite and approval.

We refinance commercial facilities from $50K up to $30M, whether that is one facility you want repriced or two held under one structure. The new limit follows a fresh capitalisation of the income the site produces now, not what you originally borrowed.

Because the valuation method decides the outcome and not every lender applies it. We do the legwork: we run the comparison across more than 40 lenders, work out which of them read a capitalised income figure on a storage facility, and present to one at a time so your credit file does not collect an enquiry for every conversation. We also model the break costs, valuation and legals against what moving actually gains you, and if it does not stack up we will tell you that.

There is no published answer, because a storage facility is assessed on what it earns rather than as a building. What decides the outcome is which lender the file goes to and how the income is presented, which is our job.

Directly, and it is what sets storage apart. The accepted method is a capitalisation of net operating income, so a point of occupancy added is income added and income added is value added. A site that was two thirds full when the loan was written and runs close to full now is worth a materially different figure, and the same is true of rate rises that have stuck. Present the trend across two and three years rather than the number on the day.

There is no published occupancy threshold. What a lender reads is the level and the direction together: where occupancy sits now, where it sat two and three years ago, and what the rate per square metre has been doing alongside it. A site climbing steadily reads very differently to one at the same level that has been sliding.

Because there are no leases. Storage income comes from short agreements a customer can end, so the income is only as durable as your ability to keep replacing the people who leave. A facility with high churn refills the same units several times a year, which costs marketing money and staff time. A long average length of stay is a genuine strength, and it is usually sitting unread in your management software rather than in your submission.

Yes, where the current valuation supports it. Cash out on a commercial refinance is assessed on the purpose of the funds, so the lender wants to know what it is for. Building the next stage of the facility, a security or access control upgrade, resurfacing a yard or a deposit on a second site are all ordinary purposes. We evidence them with quotes and a timeline.

Where it is durable and evidenced, yes. Truck hire, packaging sales and insurance commissions form part of the net operating income the valuer capitalises, so they belong in the figures. Set them out separately with their own history rather than folded into one line, because a lender will discount income it cannot see the shape of.

Often not, and on this asset a decline frequently traces to the valuation method rather than to the site. A lender that treats the facility as a plain building and reaches for comparable sales arrives at a lower figure than one that capitalises the income. We look at how the file was assessed and why the answer was no, then place it with a lender that reads storage properly.

It reads as value you created, which is the strongest version of this file. The gap between what the site earned at settlement and what it earns now is the whole argument, and it is evidenced rather than projected. We put the occupancy curve, the rate history and the churn figures together and let them do the work.

Four to six weeks from application to settlement for a straightforward file. A capitalised income valuation takes longer to commission than a standard commercial one, and SMSF refinances take longer again. We give you a realistic timeline at the start so you can plan the expiry date around it.

The existing loan statements, two to three years of financial statements and tax returns for the operating entity, the occupancy and rate history month by month, the churn and average length of stay figures from your management software, the ancillary income broken out, personal tax returns and notices of assessment for the guarantors, and a statement of assets and liabilities.

The costs are a valuation, legal and settlement fees, any lender establishment fee, discharge costs from your current lender, and break costs where you are leaving a fixed rate. Break costs are an economic cost, so they are calculated on the day and vary with how much fixed term is left. We put the real numbers against the benefit before you commit to anything.

Yes, it is possible, and we arrange these. It is also one of the more intricate refinances in commercial finance, and the detail is what decides whether it works. From 10 August 2026 a new arrangement can only be used for business real property, and a facility trading wholly as a business qualifies, whether your company runs it or a tenant operator does. It has to stay the same single property, and it is limited to the balance outstanding plus accrued interest, so there is no top up, no redraw and no cash out inside the fund. That matters more here than on most assets, because the equity a well run facility creates is exactly what cannot be reached inside super. The holding trust is reassigned to the incoming lender rather than dissolved, which carries a legal cost worth weighing against the gain. Your operating company leases the facility back in writing, at market rent supported by an independent appraisal, and the rent has to actually be paid. Cross-collateralisation is not available inside super. SMSF lending on standard commercial security generally runs between 65% and 80%, the major banks have exited SMSF lending, and lenders want a liquidity buffer left in the fund after settlement. We know this sounds complicated, and we can assist to make things clearer. 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 storage facility 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.

Most of the time, no. Where a refinance requires significant preparation due to its complexity, a small mandate fee may apply, and 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 facility is located, we can arrange your finance.

Beyond refinancing the site, we also assist with asset finance and working capital. On asset finance, that covers roller doors and partitioning for the next stage, access control and security systems, management and booking software, hire trucks and site vehicles. On working capital, we arrange business overdrafts, lines of credit and cash-flow funding to carry marketing and wages, and we can fold these into the refinance where it makes sense.

Yes, and it describes most operators we speak to. The purchase facility is set up at settlement and then simply runs, while the occupancy and the rates that decide the valuation quietly climb underneath it. 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 business owners and commercial property investors with facilities from $50,000 upwards. We will start by capitalising what the site earns now, telling you what sits on your current facility, what moving costs, and whether it is worth making. If it is not, we will say so and you can stay where you are.