Clearing a GST Bill on a Commercial Sale Against Freshwater Investment Security

Tax on a property disposal has a habit of falling due at the wrong end of the transaction, so a company or trust that has sold a commercial or investment asset can find itself owing GST on the sale, with capital gains tax somewhere behind it, and the money to pay both sitting inside a property that hasn't sold yet. A short-term facility secured against the property clears the GST now and is repaid when the sale or the refinance lands, which usually costs less than the trouble an outstanding ATO debt causes when you're trying to finance anything.

Key facts for Freshwater (2096), 12 months to September 2026

• Median three-bedroom house: $3.3 million. Four-bedroom: $4.375 million. Five-bedroom: $4.625 million.
• Median two-bedroom apartment: $1.3 million. One-bedroom: $877,500.
• Auction clearance on houses falls with size: 56% on three-bedroom, 44% on four, 40% on five.
• Apartments move quickly: 19 days for two-bedroom stock, 14 days for one-bedroom.
• 62% of households are owner-occupiers in a suburb of 8,859, and Domain publishes no days-on-market figure for its houses.

Can you borrow against an investment property to pay the GST on a sale?

You usually can, because clearing the GST owing on a commercial disposal is a business and investment purpose, the same as any other ATO liability, and that's the only kind of lending we do. It's normally written as a second mortgage behind the bank loan that's already there, sized so that the two together stay inside 75% of the property's value, which is how the money comes out without disturbing the first mortgage.

The borrower has to be a company, a trust with a corporate trustee, an SMSF, or an individual where the loan isn't NCCP-regulated, and what we're assessing is the property and the repayment rather than a serviceability calculation, which is why this still works when the bill has gone past the date your accountant gave you.

A worked Freshwater example

Say a company owns a four-bedroom Freshwater investment house worth about $4.375 million with $2.1 million owing to a bank, and a $950,000 GST liability has crystallised on a commercial property it sold last financial year, payable well before the Freshwater house is due to go to market.

That leaves about $231,000 of room to the cap, which will take a modest valuation difference but not a large one, so if the valuation comes back 6% under what you were expecting the facility doesn't get dearer, it just stops fitting.

The exit is the part we want evidenced rather than described, so either the house sells and the second mortgage is repaid out of the proceeds, or the tax position is clean enough that a bank refinances the whole thing, and if neither looks likely inside the term then we'll say no rather than write it.

How long would a Freshwater house take to sell?

Domain publishes no days-on-market figure for Freshwater houses at all, so auction clearance is the better guide, and it drops steadily with size, which means the bigger the house the smaller the crowd bidding on it, while apartments behave the other way and move in 14 to 19 days.

The market behind those numbers has softened, with Sydney house values down 3.3% in the June 2026 quarter, clearance at 48% and a record 29.3% of auctions withdrawn, so if the sale is your exit then write the term for longer than the agent's estimate.

What actually settles here

No private mortgage settled against a Freshwater property in the 90 days to August 2026, and the closest one settled at Frenchs Forest, a second mortgage of $1,140,000 sitting behind an existing bank loan and taking the combined position to 74.03% of the house, with the money going into a business, so the owner borrowed against the house rather than giving it up.

Nationally over the same 90 days there were 196 settlements, 82% of them secured by residential property at a median loan of $765,500, split 115 first mortgages and 81 seconds. The purposes were refinance 55, purchase 42, working capital 39, business investment 26, construction 19, debt consolidation 10, bridging 3 and subdivision 2.

What Vía Private lends on

What we will not do

We don't do consumer credit regulated by the National Credit Act, so a personal tax bill against the home you live in isn't something we can help with and we'll tell you that on the first call. We don't fund construction or development, we don't lend against vacant land or pre-DA sites, we won't lend where there's no credible exit, and we won't lend against a valuation we haven't tested ourselves.

Questions people ask

Can I borrow against an investment property to pay a GST bill? Yes, where the borrower is a company, trust, SMSF or an individual outside the National Credit Act, and the liability relates to a business or investment. Clearing the GST on a commercial sale, or any other ATO liability, ahead of a sale or refinance is an accepted purpose for short-term property-secured lending.

Does the existing bank loan have to be refinanced? No. A second mortgage sits behind the existing first mortgage and leaves it in place, with the combined debt of both loans kept inside 75% of the property's value.

How quickly can it be done? Settlement depends on the valuation, the documents and, on a second mortgage, the first mortgagee's consent.

How long does it take to sell a house in Freshwater? Domain publishes no days-on-market figure for Freshwater houses. Auction clearance ran 56% on three-bedroom houses down to 40% on five-bedroom, so larger homes need more time, while apartments sold in 14 to 19 days.

What happens if the sale doesn't settle inside the term? The facility is extended or refinanced and interest keeps accruing on a larger balance. Ask for the rollover fee and the default margin before you sign rather than after.

Getting a Freshwater scenario looked at

Most of the scenarios we see come through accredited mortgage brokers, so if you're already working with one, send them this page and they can put it to us. If you'd rather come to us first, email begin@viaprivate.com.au with the property, the amount you need, what it's for and how you plan to repay it.

Nearby: Manly · Balgowlah Heights · Mosman · Northbridge · Cremorne

---

Figures are indicative and for illustration only. Median values are Domain suburb data for the 12 months to September 2026. Market commentary is from the Domain House Price Report, June quarter 2026. Settlement counts are from a private lending panel covering 196 mortgages funded nationally in the 90 days to August 2026. Transfer duty is calculated at Revenue NSW 2026-27 rates. Vía Private lends to companies, trusts and SMSFs for business and investment purposes only and does not provide consumer credit regulated by the National Credit Act. This page is general information and does not take your objectives or circumstances into account. Last reviewed 13 September 2026.