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Principal solicitor · Western Sydney

Legal Practice Commercial Loan Sydney

By the Mortgagefy Team · Published 19 Oct 2026 · Last reviewed 19 Oct 2026

Legal practice is recurring, retained and relationship-driven — the kind of fee income commercial lenders queue up to finance. Buying your practice premises stops rent escalations from eating your partner draw year after year.

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General information only, not financial advice. Conditions apply.

How it works

Solicitors' premises are premium commercial. Owner-occupier legal firms with 5+ years of trading history can usually negotiate 75-80% LVR with mainstream commercial banks, sometimes higher through professional-package pricing.

The property attributes that matter: client-meeting room count (a litigation practice needs more than a transactional one), separate reception area, parking for clients attending meetings, acoustic separation for confidential discussions, trust-account-ready office configuration.

Multi-partner firms generally buy through a partnership or unit-trust structure where each partner holds units proportionate to equity. The operating firm leases at arm's-length market rent — a structure the lender wants documented cleanly.

What commercial lenders actually look at

Fee income composition

Transactional (conveyancing, probate, commercial) vs litigation vs retainer. Mixed-practice firms often price best.

Partner structure & succession

Partnership deed, buy-sell, equity structure. Lender wants comfort that key-person risk is managed.

Property fundamentals

Meeting-room count, reception, parking, signage. Street-visible suburban premises often outperform strata.

LPA & regulatory compliance

Current practising certificates for all principals, trust account audit history, no outstanding regulatory issues.

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.

Who this suits

Principal solicitors in solo or small-partnership practice
Multi-partner firms consolidating partner equity
Boutique commercial, family or litigation practices scaling
Succession-planning firms taking over from retiring principals
Firms wanting dedicated client-meeting space

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.

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Areas we cover across Western Sydney

Parramatta — Grade A and B office towers in the CBD and Westmead health precinct.

Liverpool — South-west growth corridor professional suites close to court and hospital.

Castle Hill — North-west town-centre offices for established professional firms.

Chatswood — North-shore office stock with strong public-transport access.

North Sydney — Harbour-side CBD office space for professional services firms.

Macquarie Park — Business park offices with campus-style amenity.

Hurstville — Mid-size office stock close to Forest Road retail.

Norwest — Suburban business park with modern mid-size suites.

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

Owner-occupier 75-80% typical. Professional-package pricing from some lenders extends higher. Investment-office with sitting tenant 65-75%.

A clean trust-account audit history is background assurance. Any outstanding regulatory issue will concern the lender.

Unit trust where each partner holds units is common. The operating partnership leases at market rent. Separates partnership trading risk from property.

Possible via LRBA if premises qualifies as business real property leased to the operating entity. High-level only.

Yes — investment commercial. Tenant covenant drives pricing. If buying your own future premises with a tenant on short lease, lender wants to understand the vacant-possession path.

20-25 years amortisation standard; interest-only options 2-5 years.

Volatile practice areas (planning litigation, class actions) may attract more lender scrutiny than steady transactional work.

Also see: Office suite · Accounting firm · Owner-occupier loans

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