When deciding between buying property in your personal name, through a trust or via a company, the lending implications are often overlooked until it’s too late. Recent policy tightening has made these differences even more stark.

Major banks now apply stricter criteria to trust and company borrowers, while personal name applications remain the ‘path of least resistance’.

Here’s what you need to know.

PERSONAL NAME PURCHASES
The simplest path to approval
Banks love lending to individuals.
Here’s why:

Faster assessments
Lenders assess your personal income, expenses and liabilities in a straightforward way. No need to review trust deeds, company constitutions or trustee resolutions.

More loan products
Over 90% of investment home loans are available to individuals. You’ll find competitive rates and flexible features like interest only terms.​

Higher borrowing power
Banks often calculate serviceability using your full personal income without adjustments for entity structures. Recent tightening hasn’t hit personal borrowers as hard.​

THE CATCH
Your personal debts and liabilities all count against you, potentially capping total borrowing capacity across your portfolio.

TRUST PURCHASES
More scrutiny, fewer options
Buying through a trust (discretionary family trust or otherwise) introduces complexity that many banks now penalise:

Extra documentation
Lenders require the full trust deed, variation of trust, trustee resolutions and sometimes distribution minutes. This slows approvals and raises red flags if documents aren’t ‘bank friendly’.

Tighter serviceability
Major banks often ‘shade’ trust income by 80% or more, and may disregard distributions to beneficiaries. Recent changes mean even compliant trusts face higher hurdles.​

Limited lenders
Not all banks lend to trusts. Those that do often charge higher rates (0.10%-0.50% premium) and demand larger deposits.​

Specialist lenders fill the gap
Non major banks still actively fund quality trust deals, often with more flexible policies.

COMPANY PURCHASES
Highest barriers, specialist territory
Company structures face the toughest scrutiny from major banks:

Director guarantees required
Most lenders insist personal guarantees from directors, blending personal and company risks. Recent tightening has made banks even more conservative here.

Income assessment challenges
Banks may only use retained company profits (not full revenue) and often apply heavy buffers. Base company lending rates are typically 0.20%-0.75% higher.

Fewer products
Investment property loans for companies are niche. Major banks have pulled back significantly in the last six months.​

Where companies shine
Specialist lenders on our panel continue to support strong company borrowers, especially for commercial or multi property portfolios.

QUICK COMPARISON
How banks treat each structure

THE STRATEGIC TAKEAWAY
Recent bank tightening means no structure is ‘set and forget’. Personal name purchases remain the most streamlined, however trusts and companies still work for the right deals – especially through specialist lenders who understand structured investing.

NEXT STEP
If you’re planning a trust or company purchase, let’s review your structure against current lender policies.

One conversation could unlock options the majors have closed off.