Clear the structure before you lodge, not after.
Trust and company borrowings get declined on structure rather than on merit — a corporate unitholder where the lender only accepts individuals, a guarantor with no genuine connection to the borrower, an uncertified deed. Almost all of it is fixable, but only cheaply before submission. Restructuring after a decline means a fresh application and, at some lenders, a fresh valuation.
How to use this. Ticks are saved in your own browser only. Policies differ materially between lenders and this is the union of what has been observed over 2024–2026, not any one lender’s rules. Trust and corporate structuring has tax, duty and legal consequences well beyond lending — take your own legal and tax advice before changing an entity structure to satisfy a lender. General information only, not legal advice, tax advice, financial product advice or credit assistance, and not an offer of finance.
Non-standard structures are worth pre-clearing verbally
For anything unusual — a succession restructure, a non-occupying guarantor, a minority unit holding — writing up the scenario and getting an informal read before lodging avoids a wasted submission and a credit enquiry on the file.
Pre-clear a structureThe pre-settlement pack