Caveat loans in Perth: the WA registered second mortgage, lodged with Landgate

Perth business owners often find that the caveat lenders they come across are based in the eastern states and say little about how WA titles actually work. So here is the plain version. Caveat loans are something we write on Victorian property. For Perth property we use a short-term registered second mortgage, lodged with Landgate. It does the same job, fast money behind the bank loan you already have, and in most cases it is arranged just as quickly. You talk directly to us, the lender, the whole way through.

Can you get a caveat loan in Perth?

You can get the outcome a caveat loan promises: short-term business funding against the equity in your property, without refinancing the bank. On WA land, a registered second mortgage is how we deliver it, and it is the more orderly choice.

A caveat only warns the world that someone claims an interest. A registered mortgage is the interest, recorded on the Register with its own number and its own place in line. Every Perth settlement agent, conveyancer and bank handles registered mortgages and discharges daily, so when you later sell or refinance, the payout is routine.

What do Perth owners actually use it for? The reasons we see are practical ones:

• Waiting on a big customer. Contractors and suppliers to resources and construction clients often work on long payment terms while wages and fuel are due every week.
• A tax bill that won’t wait. Clearing a BAS or income tax debt before the ATO takes firmer action.
• Buying premises or a business with a settlement date the bank is too slow to meet.
• Paying out a partner so the business stays with the person running it.

What do we use instead of a caveat in WA?

A short-term registered second mortgage. Three points from Landgate’s own published guidance explain why that works well in WA:

• Lodgement is electronic. Since 1 December 2018, eligible stand-alone mortgages, and lodgements made up of eligible discharges, transfers, mortgages and caveats, must be lodged electronically under the Transfer of Land Regulations 2004.
• The form is standard. Mortgages in WA use the National Mortgage Form, the same form used across the country.
• Priority is clear. Landgate’s guide to the Register says instruments affecting the same interest rank “according to the time of registration”. Your bank registered first, so it stays first, and ours sits second.

For a state-by-state view, read caveat loans outside Victoria. To understand how a second mortgage is sized, see our second mortgage page.

Does being on Perth time help or hurt?

It mostly helps. Perth runs two hours behind Sydney and Melbourne, and three hours behind while the eastern states are on daylight saving. Our team works on Melbourne time, which means:

• An early Perth enquiry gets an early answer. Send it at 7.30am and it lands with us mid-morning, so we can call you back and order the valuation before Perth’s lunch break.
• Signing can happen the same Perth afternoon. Documents issued in our early afternoon reach you in your late morning, with time to identify and sign.
• The tight bit is the end of the day. Our funding runs on the eastern clock, so a same-day Perth file needs everything signed by early afternoon local time.

What Perth property can secure a short-term business loan?

Area	Typical security	What the valuer weighs
Welshpool and Kewdale	Warehouses, transport depots, workshops	Truck access, hardstand, proximity to freight routes, tenant if leased
Malaga	Factory units, trade showrooms	Unit size, parking, recent strata and freehold unit sales
Osborne Park	Offices, showrooms, mixed commercial	Lease terms, vacancy, building age
Northern and southern suburbs	Family homes, townhouses	Recent street and estate sales
Inner and western suburbs	Character homes, apartments	Land size, renovation quality, building records for units

Homes, investment property and commercial buildings held by you, a company or a trust can all be considered. For non-residential security, our page on commercial and industrial property goes deeper.

Want a rough figure first? Our borrowing calculator gives a starting point, or enquire now and we’ll look at the actual property.

How fast can a Perth second mortgage settle?

With the valuation done, every owner signed and identified, a current bank statement for your existing loan and a clear exit plan, a loan between $20k and $250k is possible the same day. Bigger loans, up to $5m, are possible within 24–48 hours. Electronic lodgement means registration is not the slow step. The slow steps are human: a co-owner on a FIFO roster who is hard to reach, a company with a director overseas, or a trust deed nobody has looked at in years. Flag those in your enquiry and we’ll plan around them.

Illustrative case: buying out a partner in Osborne Park

A made-up example with rounded numbers, for illustration.

Two partners run a signage and print business in Osborne Park. One wants to retire and has agreed a price for his half, with a 30-day settlement date in the deal. The remaining partner needs $320,000.

Her home in the northern suburbs is worth about $1.1m with $380,000 owing to her bank. A $320,000 registered second mortgage, plus costs, takes total borrowing on the home to about two-thirds of value. The valuation is completed, she signs, the mortgage is lodged with Landgate behind the bank, and the outgoing partner is paid on time. Within months, with full ownership and clean accounts, she refinances the business debt with her bank and the second mortgage is discharged. Our page on paying out a business partner covers this scenario in full.

Perth property, east-coast speed: next step

Whether it is a Kewdale depot or a home in Joondalup, the start is a short online enquiry. It takes around a minute and carries no credit check at that point. We don’t push your details out to a crowd of other lenders. A real person here studies your situation and calls you, mindful of the time difference.

Please answer the form accurately: the property address, that it is in WA, what you owe on it and the date you need the money all decide how we can help.

See what your Perth property can unlock →