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High-street business owners · Western Sydney

Commercial Property Loans in Lakemba

By the Mortgagefy Team · Published 20 Oct 2026 · Last reviewed 20 Oct 2026

Lakemba's high street is lined with small, busy businesses: bakeries, sweet shops, butchers, grocers, restaurants, travel agents and clothing stores, most of them owner-run. Many have traded from the same shop for years under a lease. If your landlord is open to selling, or a shop on the strip comes up, buying the premises can lock in your location for the long term.

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General information only, not financial advice. Conditions apply.

Shopfronts and shop-top buildings on Lakemba's high street

Lakemba is in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, and its commercial heart is Haldon Street, running from the station, along with nearby Railway Parade. The property is mostly narrow shopfronts, many in older two-storey buildings with a flat or storage above, plus some newer mixed-use developments with apartments over ground-floor shops.

On a high street like this, two things dominate the finance conversation. The first is the shop-top question: whether a lender assesses a building with living space upstairs under its residential or commercial policy, which depends on the balance of floor space, the zoning and how the building is titled. The second is the use. Food businesses with commercial kitchens, exhaust systems and cool rooms can be seen differently from a plain retail shop.

How it works

We first establish what you're buying: a single shop on its own title, a strata shop in a newer building, or a whole two-storey building with a flat above. Each sits in a different part of the lending market. We also confirm whether you'll occupy the shop yourself, keep an existing tenant, or both.

Then we look at who's borrowing. Many Lakemba businesses are partnerships between family members or friends, sometimes with more than one ABN involved. Lenders will want to understand who owns what, who will be on the loan and title, and whether personal guarantees are needed from each party. Getting that agreed upfront avoids delays later.

What commercial lenders actually look at

Shop-top treatment

A building with a flat upstairs may be assessed as residential or commercial security depending on the lender, the floor-space split, zoning and title. The answer changes the deposit and loan terms, so it's checked first.

Food and hospitality use

Commercial kitchens, exhaust, grease traps and cool rooms are part of many food shops. Some lenders treat hospitality-heavy premises as more specialised, which can narrow the lender pool or reduce the maximum loan.

Ownership and guarantors

With family partnerships or several owners, lenders look at every borrower's finances and usually want personal guarantees from directors. Clear agreements between owners make the application stronger.

Deposit and costs

Owner-occupier commercial commonly sits at 70–80% LVR, though a mixed-use building assessed as residential security can come with different terms. Add NSW stamp duty, legal and valuation fees, loan costs and GST if it applies.

Ways to hold the property

Structure sits between you, your accountant and your lender — tax, asset protection and succession all matter. Four common patterns we see with Western Sydney owner-occupiers:

Personal name

Simplest to arrange. Interest can be deductible against rental income. Little asset protection from a trading-business perspective.

Company

Common for long-term holdings inside a corporate group. Flat company tax rate on rent; no CGT discount at the company level.

Trust (discretionary or unit)

Flexible for distributing rental income and separating property from trading-business risk. Lenders are comfortable with clean trust documentation.

SMSF — leased back at market rent

An SMSF can borrow (via a Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement) to buy premises that meet the ATO's "business real property" test and lease them to your business at arm's-length market rent. High-level only — a licensed SMSF specialist and your accountant must confirm your situation.

This is general information only, not financial, tax or legal advice. Confirm your situation with a licensed credit adviser and accountant.

Partnerships, cash-heavy trade and second opinions

A typical Lakemba purchase might involve two brothers who run a bakery together, or a husband and wife whose shop has supported the family for years. Those businesses are often more resilient than their tax returns make them look, especially where profit is shared across several people or kept low through legitimate deductions.

Food and retail businesses that take a lot of cash need to be able to show it. Lenders look for turnover that is declared on BAS and banked through the business account. Where that's in place, some alt-doc lenders can assess on turnover and bank statements; where it isn't, it's worth getting your accountant involved before applying, rather than after a decline.

If you've been knocked back by a bank, it may have been the property type, the use, the ownership structure or your credit file. A second opinion starts by finding out which. We'll tell you plainly if waiting, adding security or restructuring the purchase is a better path than applying again now.

Information checked on 20 Oct 2026. Lender policies change often — confirm current requirements with your chosen lender before applying. General information only, not financial advice.

Who this suits

Bakeries, sweet shops, butchers and grocers buying the shop they trade from
Restaurant and takeaway owners who need premises with a commercial kitchen
Family partnerships or co-owners buying a building together
Owners declined by a bank because of the property, the use or how income was assessed

Run your commercial numbers

Estimate repayments, LVR and deposit on a commercial purchase — owner-occupier or investment, full-doc or lease-doc — with our commercial property loan calculator. Paying rent now? Compare it against buying with the rent-vs-buy calculator.

Indicative only. Not a loan approval or borrowing-capacity assessment.

Open the calculator

Areas we cover across Western Sydney

Wiley Park — Neighbour to the west with a small shopping strip along King Georges Road.

Belmore — Neighbour to the east with a station-side retail strip and mixed-use buildings.

Punchbowl — Neighbouring suburb with shops and small commercial buildings near the station.

Bankstown — The council area's main commercial centre, with offices, medical suites and retail.

Check your commercial loan options

Answer a few quick questions about the property and your business. Free, no obligation, takes under 3 minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, but how the lender assesses it varies. Some lenders treat a shop-top building as residential security if the residential part is significant, others treat it as commercial. That affects the deposit and terms, so we check the building against lender policies first.

It can make some lenders more cautious, because a building fitted out for food service may suit fewer future buyers. Many lenders still finance these premises, particularly for an established owner-occupier, but the lender pool can be smaller.

Yes. Both of you would usually be on the loan or provide guarantees, and the lender will assess each person's finances. It helps to agree ownership shares and what happens if one partner wants to sell, ideally in writing with your solicitor.

Only income that is declared and banked can be counted. If your BAS and business bank statements show steady turnover, some alt-doc lenders can assess on that basis. If records are inconsistent, speak to your accountant before applying.

Get a solicitor to prepare or review the contract, order an independent building report and confirm the current use is permitted by council. The lender will still need its own valuation, and the price you agree may not match it, so leave room in your deposit.

For an owner-occupied shop assessed as commercial, around 20 to 30 percent of the price plus stamp duty and costs is a common starting point. Mixed-use buildings assessed under residential policy may differ, and home equity can sometimes help.

Get your free Sydney commercial property assessment

Tell us what you're trying to buy and what you can put down — we'll map which commercial lenders fit your deposit and your business financials.

Start Your Free Assessment Call 0432 634 648

General information only. Conditions apply. Mortgagefy is Credit Rep 532656 under ACL 348324.