In short: GNT Finance works with Springvale buyers on two very different loans. One is a first home on a villa unit or an older brick house, often fully exempt from Victorian duty under $600,000. The other is a shop, a food business premises or a warehouse on or near Springvale Road, which is commercial lending with a bigger deposit, a shorter term and different pricing.
Springvale is about 22 kilometres south-east of the CBD in the City of Greater Dandenong. The Springvale Road strip either side of the station is one of Melbourne's busiest retail precincts, dense with grocers, bakeries, restaurants, jewellers, medical suites and professional offices. The rail line through the centre was elevated when the level crossing came out, and the ground-level space reshaped how the strip works. Vietnamese, Cambodian, Chinese, Sri Lankan and Indian communities have been established here for decades.
Two markets in one postcode
Homes
Springvale and Springvale South are mostly 1950s to 1970s brick and weatherboard houses on generous blocks, with a thick layer of 1980s and 1990s villa units and a newer townhouse layer near the station. First home buyers come here precisely because units and older homes still trade in the range where Victorian duty concessions apply. Owners who bought decades ago are often sitting on land worth far more than the house, which raises the subdivision question.
Business premises
The strip and the surrounding light industrial pockets mean a steady flow of clients who have leased premises for years and want to buy them. That is a commercial loan, and almost every assumption from home lending changes.
| Feature | Home loan | Commercial property loan |
|---|---|---|
| Typical deposit | 5 to 20% | Commonly 30% or more |
| Typical term | 30 years | 15 to 20 years, sometimes shorter |
| Review | Set and forget | Periodic review of the facility |
| Income assessed | Payslips or tax returns | Business financials, lease and rent |
| Duty | Concessions for first home buyers | Full general rate, no concessions |
| GST | Not applicable | Often applies unless sold as a going concern |
That last line surprises people. A commercial property can be sold plus GST, and lenders will not fund the GST component, so you either finance it separately for a quarter or structure the sale as a going concern with your accountant's advice. Read commercial property loans before you sign a contract.
Worked example: buying the shop you lease
Say your business has leased a Springvale Road shop for years and the landlord offers to sell at $850,000.
- Duty is $2,870 + (6% x $720,000) = $2,870 + $43,200 = $46,070. No first home or owner-occupier concession applies to commercial property. Rates are published at sro.vic.gov.au.
- A 30% deposit is $255,000, leaving a loan of $595,000.
- For illustration at 6.50% p.a. over 20 years, that is about $4,436 a month.
- Compare that with the rent you currently pay. If you were paying $3,600 a month, ownership costs about $836 a month more before outgoings, but the repayment is building equity and the interest is generally deductible to the business. Your accountant should confirm the tax treatment.
- Add the land tax. Commercial land is not exempt, and Victorian land tax runs from $500 once your Victorian land holdings pass $50,000 of site value, rising through the brackets from there. See land tax in Victoria explained.
Some business owners buy the premises through a self-managed super fund using a limited recourse borrowing arrangement, with the business leasing it back at market rent. Deposits are larger and the rules are strict. Our SMSF loans page and the SMSF property investment guide explain the structure, and we work alongside your accountant and financial adviser.
Worked example: a first home villa unit at $540,000
Say you buy a two-bedroom villa unit in Springvale for $540,000 as your first home.
- Duty is nil. Without the first home buyer exemption it would be $2,870 + (6% x $410,000) = $27,470, so that is the saving.
- Under the First Home Guarantee a 5% deposit is $27,000, with no lenders mortgage insurance, well inside the $950,000 Melbourne cap.
- Loan of $513,000. For illustration at 6.00% p.a. over 30 years, about $3,076 a month.
- Owners corporation fees on a villa unit are usually modest but still counted by the lender, so budget them into servicing.
Our stamp duty for first home buyers guide explains the exemption and the sliding concession from $600,001 to $750,000, and first home buyer loans covers the application itself.
Income that does not fit a payslip
A lot of Springvale households combine a wage with business income, or run a shop through a company or family trust with income distributed across members. Lenders differ enormously in how they read trust distributions, retained profits and second-year growth. Where the returns are not yet lodged, low-doc options based on BAS statements, business bank statements or an accountant's declaration exist with some lenders, at a higher rate and a larger deposit. See self-employed loans.
Consultations are available in English, Nepali or Hindi, with an interpreter in your language on request. Our Vietnamese community and Sri Lankan community pages set out the document trail we prepare for families with overseas income, gifts or savings, and the communities we serve hub lists the rest.
Nearby suburbs
We also work in Noble Park, Dandenong, Clayton and across the south-eastern corridor.
Frequently asked questions
How much deposit do I need to buy a shop in Springvale?
Commercial lenders commonly want 30% or more of the purchase price, plus duty and costs from your own funds. Some will lend more against a strong lease and strong business financials, and some accept residential property as additional security, which can lift the effective borrowing without more cash. The structure is worth designing before you negotiate the price.
Can I use equity in my Springvale home to buy business premises?
Often yes. Releasing equity from your home gives you the deposit at residential rates and terms, and the commercial loan then covers the balance. It also puts your home at risk if the business struggles, so we set it up as a separate split and talk through the downside before recommending it. Independent legal advice is sensible.
Is a villa unit in Springvale a good first purchase?
For many buyers it is the cheapest way into a suburb with strong transport and services, and it often falls under the $600,000 duty exemption. Check the owners corporation fees and records, the internal floor area if it is a smaller unit, and whether the site has any redevelopment restrictions. Prices move, so compare a unit against an older house on land before deciding.
Does buying commercial property attract the same stamp duty as a home?
Duty is calculated on the same general scale, but none of the residential concessions apply, so there is no first home exemption and no owner-occupier discount. Land tax also applies with no principal place of residence exemption. Both are ongoing costs to build into the business case, not one-off surprises at settlement.
Talk to GNT Finance
Whether you are buying your first unit or finally buying the shop you have rented for a decade, we will compare the lenders that suit and set the loan up so it works for the next ten years, not just settlement day. Book a free consultation or call 0426 403 703.
Written by Gorakh Timilsina
Founder, CEO & Senior Mortgage Consultant at GNT Finance. Gorakh started as a broker assistant, spent years as a senior credit officer assessing loan applications, and now helps Melbourne families get the right loan approved. English, Nepali and Hindi spoken.