Family trust home loans, structured around your trust deed
Your accountant set up the trust. Now the lending side has to catch up: a 20% deposit, a 0.20–0.40% rate premium, and a smaller lender pool. Stryve writes family trust home loans across a panel that knows discretionary trust policy.

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What family trust home loans look like in practice
Discretionary trusts are the most common trust type used by Australian property investors. Lender policies are mature, but the parameters differ from a loan in your own name. Here is what a family trust home loan actually looks like, in concrete terms.
10% deposit is the floor
Deposit
Most lenders cap family trust loans at 90% LVR. A handful stretch to 90% with conditions, but expect a meaningful rate premium and restricted product options if you go that route. Plan for 20% and treat anything less as a bonus.
0.20 to 0.40% rate premium
Rate
Family trust loans carry a rate premium of 0.20 to 0.40% above equivalent investor loans in an individual name. A known cost of the structure, not a penalty. Factor it into your cash flow modelling before you commit to the trust.
Smaller lender pool, broker selection matters
Lender choice
Not every lender writes family trust loans. The ones that do have clear discretionary trust policies. Our commission comes from the lender once your loan settles, not from you. We will show you exactly how we are paid before you proceed.
Personal guarantees are non-negotiable
Guarantees
The trustee signs the loan. With a corporate trustee, every director provides a personal guarantee. With an individual trustee, the guarantee is direct. Lenders treat this as standard. Make sure every guarantor understands their exposure before lodging.
What lenders check in your trust deed first
A family trust is not a separate legal entity. The trustee holds assets on behalf of beneficiaries, which means the trustee borrows and the lender's security is over trust property. That makes the deed the first document lenders read, before income, deposit, or property value.
Older deeds drafted for asset protection or estate planning often miss the specific clauses property lenders need. A solicitor can amend the deed, but it must happen before the application is lodged, not after a decline. Knowing what lenders check ahead of time is what keeps the application alive.
Your deed is the foundation. If it is right, the rest follows. If it is wrong, nothing else matters.
01
Trustee borrowing powers
The deed must explicitly grant the trustee the power to borrow money. If this clause is missing or ambiguous, lenders decline the application before assessing income, deposit, or property value. It is the first thing they check, and the most common reason a trust loan dies on day one.
02
Security granting clause
Separate from borrowing powers, the deed must allow the trustee to offer trust property as security for a loan. Older deeds and generic template deeds frequently omit this clause. It is the most common gap we see when reviewing deeds for borrowers buying property in a family trust.
03
Corporate trustee versus individual trustee
Most lenders prefer a corporate trustee. It provides cleaner liability separation, continuity if directors change, and clearer borrowing authority. Individual trustees can still secure loans, but the lender pool narrows further and personal guarantees become more direct.
04
Beneficiary clarity
Lenders want clearly defined beneficiaries or classes of beneficiaries. Vague or overly broad beneficiary clauses trigger additional compliance checks and can delay or derail the application. A solicitor's review against the chosen lender's policy avoids the slow-no.
Serviceability
How serviceability is assessed for trust loans
Lenders assess the trustee's personal income for serviceability, not the trust's. The trust's rental income or business income is recognised differently by each lender, and the answer varies more than most borrowers expect. Three points catch people off guard most often.
Trustee personal income drives the assessment
IncomeIf you have an individual trustee, your personal income and expenses are assessed. With a corporate trustee, the directors' personal income is assessed. Trust rental or business income is shaded differently by each lender, often counted at 70 to 80% of gross. Matching your income mix to the right lender's policy is the lever.
Trust lending can impact future borrowing capacity depending on the lender
PortfolioBanks and lenders have different ways of reviewing and assessing debt held within trusts. There are banks that can isolate debt held within specific trusts while other banks will need to factor in all debts across personal name and trust. Selecting the right bank is important here
Self-employed presentation is half the application
Self-employedFamily trust property investors are disproportionately self-employed. Stryve specialises in self-employed applicants and presents trust distributions, company profits, and add-backs in the format each lender needs. The difference between a well-presented application and a poorly structured one is often hundreds of thousands of dollars in approved capacity.
Planning multiple purchases? Strategies to increase borrowing capacity covers what moves the number across 40+ lenders.
State land tax
NSW land tax hits family trusts harder than most investors realise
Discretionary trusts in NSW lose the land tax-free threshold individual owners receive. The annual cost compounds against net return over the hold period.
From dollar one
No threshold for trusts
Land tax is assessed from the first dollar of taxable land value. The standard land tax-free allowance does not apply to most family trusts.
Every year you hold
Annual, not one-off
Charged each financial year of ownership, not just at purchase. The cost recurs as long as the property sits inside the trust.
Over 10 to 20 years
Compounds against return
Cumulative impact materially reduces net return versus buying in an individual name. Quantify it before you commit.
How we structure a family trust property loan from deed to settlement
Most major banks have restrictive or inconsistent policies on family trust lending. Going direct risks a decline that damages your credit file and delays the purchase by months. The lending side requires a broker who knows which lenders say yes, what they need to see, and how to package the application so it does not fall over at approval.
Stryve is digital-first, but human where it counts. Every step below involves a real conversation with a broker who has structured family trust applications before.
A declined application costs you time, a credit enquiry, and momentum. We structure it right the first time.
01
Deed review
Before selecting a lender or running numbers, we review your trust deed. We confirm it has the borrowing powers, security granting clauses, and trustee structure that lenders require. If the deed needs amending, we flag it now, not after a decline. Your solicitor handles the amendment; we tell you exactly what needs to change.
02
Lender matching
Not every lender on our panel writes family trust loans. We identify the lenders whose policies align with your trust structure, trustee type, and borrowing amount. No wasted credit enquiries. No applications to lenders who will say no. This step alone is the primary reason a specialist broker adds value over going direct.
03
Application structuring
We build the application around the specific concerns lenders raise on discretionary trusts: corporate trustee documentation, beneficiary clarity, personal guarantee requirements, and serviceability presentation for self-employed income. Every document is prepared in the format the chosen lender expects.
04
Coordination with your team
We work alongside your accountant and solicitor so the lending structure aligns with the tax and legal advice you have already received. The broker does not replace your accountant. We make sure the lending side does not contradict the structure your accountant recommended. If there is a conflict, we surface it before it becomes a problem.
05
Settlement and ongoing support
Once approved, we manage the settlement process and coordinate between your solicitor, the lender, and the selling agent. After settlement, we remain available for refinancing, additional purchases, or structure reviews as your portfolio grows. One conversation now sets up the relationship for every property that follows.
Ready to get your family trust loan structured?
We start with your trust deed, match you to a family-trust-friendly lender, and build the application so it holds up at approval.
Talk to a trust lending specialistKeep planning the
lending side
What our customers
say about us
“Nate and Dylan were extremely helpful in helping us secure our new home. They were easy to contact from day one, and answered any questions we had. We felt reassured at all times and are very grateful for their patience with us. I have recommended Stryve to 3 friends now who have all been successful in achieving their goals of purchasing their homes. We are so happy with the service and will definitely keep on recommending Stryve to our family and friends.”
Whitney Tran
Homeowner
“I never had a problem with Dylan. From the start of our journey on mortgage til the very end and even with refinancing, he/they were very helpful, transparent, honest and really keen to help their clients! Highly recommended.”
Cristianne Del Valle
Homeowner
“On behalf of my husband and I, we would like to truly thank Dylan Bertovic for all his assistance in helping us with our new loan - approved in time before our settlement. Dylan worked above and beyond expected. He took the time to explain every step and process with us. Any questions we had, Dylan would go out of his way to ensure they were answered. He made the process stress free and ensured we got the best possible deal. We highly recommend Dylan to all our family and friends.”
Merna Yalda
Homeowner
“Nate is great to work with, very knowledgeable, responsive and genuinely invested in helping me find the right solution. Highly recommend this firm to anyone looking for reliable, competitive and professional brokerage services.”
Julia
Homeowner
“Dylan has not only been a longtime friend, but also the trusted mortgage broker of choice for my family. He answers the phone at all hours, communicates extensively through all steps of a sometimes-complicated process and manages my risk. He has a straight to the point approach which I appreciate. Simply gets the job done, and gets it done very quickly. Thanks for everything Dylan, you're a champion broker and a good mate.”
Christian Barać
Homeowner
“Nate and Dylan were the ultimate professionals in securing a home loan to help us purchase our first home! Following the purchase of our home, they have continued to provide their exceptional service and have been able to secure two rate reductions in six months! Being self-employed wasn't an issue for me as Nate knew the process back-to-front and was able to provide sound advice throughout the application process.”
Justin Tomas
Homeowner
“It was an absolute brilliant experience with Stryve. Our first purchase was with Dylan he was always clear re: the next steps, quick to respond, never tired of questions and went over and above with communication. We went back and used him again for our next investment and the experience was just as wonderful as the first. Stryve also reviews our loans every 6 months to make sure we are getting the best rates on offer. We couldn't ask for more!”
Amber Motii
Homeowner
Frequently asked questions about family trust home loans
Your accountant built the structure. Let us get it financed.
We start with your trust deed, match you to a family-trust-friendly lender, and structure the application so it does not fall over at approval.




