Which Fast Finance Fits Your Accommodation Purchase?
Finance a Fast Accommodation Purchase | Switchboard Finance
Accommodation Finance
Going Concern · Capital Stack · Fast Settlement
Which Fast Finance Fits Your Accommodation Purchase?
A fast accommodation purchase rarely fails on price. It stalls on structure, the order the money comes together and which tool closes each gap. This guide routes a going-concern purchase across the instruments that move quickly, so you can match the finance to the deal.
Quick Answer
Buying a motel, pub or caravan park quickly comes down to matching the right instrument to the gap in your deal, not chasing one product. A senior loan does the heavy lifting, and faster tools fill the rest. Start with the going concern, then route the timing through the right facility on the accommodation finance hub.
Start with the deal, not the product
Fast accommodation finance is a routing problem, not a single product. The question that decides speed is not which lender, but which part of the price each facility is covering, and in what order. Get the structure right up front and a going-concern motel, park or pub can move at the pace of the deal rather than the pace of a full bank assessment.
The asset you are buying sets the rules. A motel, caravan park or pub usually changes hands as a going concern, an operating business sold as a whole, so a lender funds the trade and the real estate together rather than the bricks alone. That is why fast-deal finance is best thought of as a small set of instruments you combine, the senior loan plus whichever quick tool closes the remaining gap, all mapped on the accommodation finance hub.
It also helps to be honest about why the clock is running. The pressure on most fast deals is deal-driven, a vendor's terms, a competing buyer, or a hard settlement date, rather than a tax deadline, so the goal is a clean structure that settles on time, not a rush for its own sake.
How the capital stack for a going-concern purchase fits together
The capital stack for a going-concern purchase is the senior loan, your deposit or supporting security, and a final layer that closes any gap to the price. The senior facility carries most of the deal, and it is sized on the going-concern valuation, not the asking price, which is the single thing that decides how much you actually need to find.
On a freehold going concern, the loan to value ratio is typically around 60% to 70% on a freehold going concern, indicative and varies by lender and security. Supporting security, usually equity in a home or another property, lifts the effective total toward the full price, which is how most buyers close the gap between the senior advance and their own cash. A commercial property loan is the usual backbone here, and how that pricing is set is covered in commercial property loan rates.
Everything else in the stack exists only to fill what the senior loan and your deposit do not reach. Once you can see the size of that gap, choosing the fast tool to close it becomes a short, clear decision.
Which fast tool fits your purchase?
The right fast tool depends on the gap you are closing, not on which product sounds quickest. Use the picker to match a situation to the instrument that fits it, then read each one as a layer that sits beside the senior loan rather than a replacement for it.
Match the gap to the tool
Private capital, when the whole purchase has to move fast
When a strong opportunity will not wait for a bank's full assessment, private lending funds the purchase against property security and is repaid by a later refinance once the trade is on file. It is priced for speed, so it suits a clear, short exit.
Private lendingTwo of those routes solve timing rather than structure. Switchboard does not offer a separate bridging product, so where the need is pure timing, between exchange and settlement, that work is done by private lending or a caveat loan, each short-term and exit-driven, with a clear exit strategy set from day one.
The vendor carry is the one structural tool in the set. When the senior facility and your equity nearly reach the price, vendor finance lets the seller leave part of the price in behind the bank, often registered as a second mortgage, repaid over a few years. The senior lender's written consent to that second-ranking position is what makes it work.
Match the tool to the gap, then plan the exit
Every fast tool in the stack is temporary by design, so the exit is part of the plan before the money goes in. Private capital and a caveat facility are both cleared by a refinance once the business has traded under new ownership, or by sale, while a vendor carry is usually refinanced out over the same window. Pricing the exit early is what keeps a quick entry from becoming an expensive one.
There is also your own position to think about. If you are buying a business while carrying or arranging a home loan, a One Doc home loan reads self-employed income differently from a standard bank, which matters when an unsettled purchase is sitting on your file. A pub buyer weighing gaming and tenure can read the detail on pub and hotel finance, and the underlying valuation logic in going concern explained.
One boundary is worth stating plainly. Switchboard arranges secured, business-purpose credit; where a deal involves equity, a unit trust or any form of syndication, that structuring is licensed-partner territory and sits under separate advice, as the regulator sets out for business and companies. The cleanest path is to settle the funding structure first, then take any equity questions to the right adviser.
Fast accommodation finance is not one product you chase, it is a capital stack you assemble. The senior loan sits on the going-concern valuation, supporting security closes most of the gap, and a quick tool, private capital, a caveat facility, or a vendor carry, fills whatever is left, each with its exit set in advance.
Key takeaway: decide the structure before you sign, then speak to a broker to match each layer to the gap in your specific deal.Frequently Asked Questions
Financing a motel or pub quickly means matching each part of the price to the right facility rather than waiting on one loan. A senior commercial loan carries the bulk against the going concern, and faster tools such as private lending or a caveat loan cover timing, while a vendor carry can close the final slice. The fastest deals are the ones where the structure is decided before you sign.
The deposit on an accommodation business is set by the going concern valuation, not the asking price, because a freehold going concern is financed at an LVR typically around 60% to 70%, indicative and varies by lender and security. That points to a deposit in the order of 30% to 40%, though supporting security over property you already own can lift the effective borrowing toward the full price. The real number comes from the valuation and the lender.
Using private lending to settle an accommodation purchase fast is common when a strong opportunity will not wait for a bank's full assessment. Private lending funds the purchase against property security and is short-term and exit-driven, repaid by a refinance once the trade is on file. It is priced for speed, so a clear exit strategy matters more than the headline rate.
A freehold going concern is where you own the land, the building and the operating business as one asset, which is how most motels and parks are bought and sold. Because the loan to value ratio is applied to that going concern valuation rather than the land alone, a specialised operating asset is financed more conservatively than a standard home, indicative and varies by lender. The going concern valuation is what lenders size the loan against first, as set out in going concern explained.
Vendor finance and a caveat loan solve different gaps, so they can sit in the same deal without overlapping. A caveat loan covers short timing pressure around a settlement date, while a vendor carry, often registered as a second mortgage behind the senior lender, fills a structural gap in the price over a few years. The senior lender's consent governs where each one ranks.
FBAA Accredited
