Developer Trusts Made Easy: 4 Proven Ways Semper Simplifies

If you’ve worked with property developers to refinance property portfolios, you’ll know how complicated their financial affairs can be. Multiple trusts, corporate trustees, and cross-collateralisations—it’s rarely straightforward. Add into this mix accumulating debts such as ATO arrears, land tax obligations and other holding cost debts, and suddenly even the most experienced introducer can feel bogged down. But this is an increasingly likely scenario, particularly in Victoria, the most heavily taxed property market in the country.

For commercial mortgage brokers with developers seeking to refinance property portfolios, legacy trust structures can seem overwhelming and the last thing you need is to spend days trying to untangle these structures to work out which entities have authority or obligations to sign.

That’s where Semper comes in. We specialise in helping developers and other asset-rich, cash-flow constrained borrowers unlock the value of their existing property assets to refinance short-term debts, fix up ATO and Land Tax obligations so they can transition back to bank funding. Our focus is on helping them stabilise, clean up, and achieve this goal.

What We Actually Need at the Start

To get a deal moving with Semper, you don’t need to arrive with a perfectly packaged set of documents. All we ask for are four simple things:

• The security property address

• Its estimated value and any debt owing

• The purpose of funds (often to clear tax arrears, rates, or refinance expensive facilities for example)

• The borrower’s basic details

With that, we can take the wheel. We’ll work backwards from the security and borrower position, unravelling trusts, confirming beneficial ownership, and navigating the legal detail that otherwise slows things down.

Why This Matters to You as an Introducer

Your value is bringing opportunities to the table—Semper appreciates this and by removing that burden and taking on the process of unravelling the balls of string that weave these entities together, we free you to focus on building relationships and delivering solutions. This works for both of us because:

• It saves time: No need to wade through trust deeds or explain shareholder loans.

• Reduces stress: We handle the heavy lifting with the borrower’s advisers.

• Protects your reputation: Clients experience a seamless, professional process.

• Helps you close more deals: Simplicity increases the likelihood of settlement.

Developers Today: Asset-Rich, Cash-Flow Tight

It’s important to remember that developers aren’t always seeking new development finance. More often, they’re trying to resolve the debts and holding costs that build up around projects—residual stock, delayed settlements, or tax arrears.

These clients are usually asset-rich but temporarily income-constrained. Their balance sheets look strong, but liquidity is under pressure. Traditional banks often won’t step in until those situations are cleared, especially if there are outstanding ATO and Land Tax debts. That’s where Semper adds real value: we provide the short-term funding they need, secured against property assets, to clear accumulated debts and reposition themselves for mainstream finance.

A Practical Example

One introducer brought us a client who had completed a residential project but was stuck holding several units of unsold stock. In the meantime, ATO debts and land tax had piled up, and their bank had no appetite to extend terms.

Rather than try to source new development finance, which wasn’t appropriate, the introducer engaged Semper. With just the property details, debt position, and borrower information, we stepped in. Within days, we had structured a solution secured against the existing assets. This cleared the ATO arrears and rates, giving the client breathing space to sell down stock at full value and arrange longer-term efficient loans for the portfolio he wanted to keep.

The Semper Advantage

• Clarity from complexity: We distil messy structures into workable solutions.

• Speed: Indicative offers can be made quickly once we know the security, debt, use of funds, and borrower details.

• Specialist focus: We’re not in the construction finance space. Our niche is short-term, asset-backed refinancing for borrowers who need to clean up their balance sheets.

• Confidence: With years of experience helping developers manage accumulated debts, we know how to navigate the challenges.

Partner With Us

The next time a client hands you a stack of trust deeds or confides that their tax arrears are spiralling, don’t feel overwhelmed. Remember: you don’t need to solve every structural or legal issue. Just provide Semper with the basics, and we’ll take it from there.

We’ll help your client use the assets they already hold to refinance their short-term debts, reset their position, and prepare for their return to bank finance.