You run your business out of a warehouse or factory somewhere between Sunshine and Geelong, and someone has mentioned that your self managed super fund could buy it. It sounds neat. Your business pays rent to your own fund instead of a landlord, and your retirement savings grow through an asset you understand better than any share portfolio. The idea is sound. The execution is where most business owners come unstuck, because the rules governing SMSFs and industrial property are specific, strict, and not something to guess your way through.
This guide is general information only. It is not financial, tax or legal advice, and Fairmont Property Group is a property agency, not a licensed financial adviser. Everything below is written to help you ask the right questions of your accountant, financial adviser or SMSF specialist before you act.
Why industrial property suits SMSFs in the first place
Industrial assets like warehouses, factories and storage facilities have become a genuine area of focus for SMSF trustees, partly because a fund can lease the property to a related party business under certain conditions, something that is generally not allowed with residential property. Industrial premises also tend to have longer lease terms and lower ongoing maintenance than other commercial types, which suits the long term nature of superannuation.
An industrial property bought through the wrong structure can create more problems for a business owner than it solves.
The rules that actually matter
Mistakes business owners make
Super can own your warehouse. It cannot own your convenience.
Borrowing inside your fund
If your SMSF does not hold enough cash to buy outright, it may be able to borrow using a limited recourse borrowing arrangement. In simple terms, this limits the lender's rights to the specific property if things go wrong, protecting the fund's other assets. These arrangements come with their own compliance requirements and are not something to set up without a specialist who works in this space regularly.
What this means across the western corridor
Demand for industrial property in Melbourne's west and the Geelong corridor has remained strong, with vacancy consistently tight across the region. For a business owner whose fund may eventually own the property they trade from, understanding the local market fundamentals matters just as much as understanding the compliance rules.
The right property and the right structure are two separate decisions, and both need to be right.
Getting the property side right is where Fairmont can help. Getting the SMSF structure right is a conversation for your accountant or SMSF specialist, and it is one worth having before you fall in love with a particular address.
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Fairmont only sells and leases industrial property across Melbourne's western corridor and Geelong. That focus is deliberate. It means we know the buyers who are active right now and what they are prepared to pay.