You have been leasing the same factory or warehouse in the west for years, watching someone else's mortgage get paid down while you fund the rent roll. Now your accountant has mentioned your SMSF could actually buy the building you trade from. Before you get excited about owning your own industrial premises through super, there are questions only your accountant or SMSF specialist can answer properly for your situation.
What buying through an SMSF actually means
An SMSF can, in the right circumstances, purchase what is known as business real property, which generally includes a factory, warehouse or industrial site used wholly for business purposes. Many funds use a limited recourse borrowing arrangement to help fund the purchase, with the property held in a separate holding trust until any loan is repaid. This is a legitimate strategy used by plenty of business owners across Melbourne's western corridor, but the rules around related party transactions, market rent and sole purpose compliance are strict and unforgiving if they are not followed properly.
The property might be the easy part. The structure is where most business owners need real specialist guidance.
Why western industrial appeals to SMSF buyers
Industrial land and improved sites across the west, from Laverton North through to the Geelong corridor, continue to attract owner occupiers who like the idea of controlling their own premises rather than being at the mercy of a landlord's rent review. Business owners considering this route are often less interested in market timing and more interested in security of tenure and long term asset ownership within their retirement structure.
Owning the building your business runs from is not just a property decision, it is a super fund decision, a tax decision and a legal decision all at once.
Questions to take to your accountant
Where business owners get this wrong
What this means for your business and your fund
If the numbers and the compliance framework stack up, owning your own industrial premises through your SMSF can offer long term stability for both your business and your retirement savings, particularly in a corridor where owner occupiers continue to compete for well located stock. None of this is financial, tax or legal advice. This article is general information only, and Fairmont Property Group is a property agency, not a licensed financial adviser. Speak with your accountant, financial adviser or an SMSF specialist before making any decision about your fund.
We know the western industrial market and can help you and your advisers assess whether a particular warehouse, factory or site genuinely stacks up as a property, leaving the fund and structure questions where they belong, with your own professional advisers.
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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.