You have found a warehouse in Truganina or a factory unit in Laverton North that looks like a solid fit for your SMSF. Before you get anywhere near a contract, there is a list of things your fund, your adviser and the property itself need to clear first. Get any one of them wrong and you are not just risking a bad deal, you are risking the compliance of your whole fund.
Why industrial property appeals to SMSF trustees in the west
Industrial assets across Melbourne's western suburbs and the Geelong corridor have become a popular choice for trustees looking for a tangible asset with a defined income stream. Warehouses, storage facilities and small factories often come with longer leases than retail or office space, and tenants in this corridor tend to be established local businesses rather than speculative start ups. That appeals to trustees who want something they can understand and explain to their fund members.
An industrial property that suits your fund on paper can still fail the compliance test if the structure around it is wrong.
What your fund needs before you sign anything
A self managed super fund does not buy property the way you or your business would. The trust deed has to actually permit the investment. The fund's investment strategy needs to name property, or at least industrial or commercial property, as an allowable asset class, and needs to show how it fits with diversification and liquidity requirements. If you are planning to borrow inside the fund, that borrowing has to run through a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, which comes with its own set of structural rules around the holding trust and the asset itself.
Compliance is not a formality you tidy up after settlement. It is the thing that decides whether the purchase is legal in the first place.
The mistakes that catch SMSF trustees out
What to check in the property itself
Getting the right advice before you commit
This is general information only and is not financial, tax or legal advice. Fairmont Property Group is a property agency, not a licensed financial adviser, and every SMSF purchase needs to be checked against your fund's specific deed, strategy and circumstances by your own accountant, financial adviser or SMSF specialist before you proceed. What we can do is help you understand the industrial market itself, what is genuinely available across the western corridor, and whether a property stacks up as a long term asset once your advisers have confirmed it fits your fund.
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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.