Equity Lenders: private first mortgages, second mortgages and caveats for companies

Equity Lenders is the trading website of Private Lending Holdings Pty Ltd, a private lender based in Spring Hill on the edge of the Brisbane CBD. It has been around in one form or another since 1995, and it lends against real estate to companies and family trusts that need a short-term answer the bank can’t give in time, or won’t give at all.

What makes it a little unusual is the model. The website says it lends from its own funds and also places deals with other private lenders on its panels, describing itself as a lender’s broker as well as a funder. For a borrower, that means one conversation can cover more than one source of money. This profile is based on the Equity Lenders website as at October 2026. Private lending terms move quickly, so confirm the details directly before you rely on them.

What does Equity Lenders lend?

As at October 2026 the website groups its lending into first-ranking and second-ranking loans:

Product	Published amounts	Term	Security
First mortgages	$100k to $50m	1 to 18 months	First registered mortgage over residential, commercial, land, development sites and some specialised property
Second mortgages and caveats	$100k to $5m	1 to 24 months	Second mortgage or a caveat behind an existing loan
LowRate and LowRatePlus seconds and caveats	Packaged loans of $100k and $200k	Up to 6 months, with a possible rollover	Second mortgage or caveat; caveats not offered on Queensland property for these products

Maximum loan-to-value ratios vary with the property type and location. The website publishes a sliding scale: higher for standard houses and units in the capital cities, lower for vacant land, regional and coastal property, and specialised assets such as motels, childcare centres and NDIS housing. Development sites sit at the conservative end. Our LVR calculator shows quickly whether your property has the kind of headroom a private lender will want.

Around those products the website describes the common uses: bridging a purchase before a sale, releasing equity for working capital, funding a subdivision or development, consolidating expensive or expired debt, and renovating a property to sell it for more.

Who is it built for?

The published rules are brief, and most applicants can tell within a minute whether they qualify:

• A company or corporate trustee as borrower. The website says loans are for company directors and corporate trustees of family trusts. A sole trader or a partnership of individuals would need a different structure or a different lender.
• Mostly business purpose. Use of funds must be more than 51% business. Equity Lenders states it isn’t licensed to arrange regulated home loans.
• Real equity in real estate. Security is residential, commercial or vacant land with generous equity. Releasing equity generally needs at least 40% equity in the property.
• At least two ways out. For business and company loans, the website asks for two or more repayment proposals, for example a property sale plus a refinance, or a refinance plus business cash flow.
• A minimum of $100k. Smaller needs fall below its published floor.

It accepts new companies as well as established ones, and the website lists a tarnished credit record among the scenarios it can fund, subject to its normal approval criteria.

Three details worth knowing before you call

The two-exit rule is the real test. Many private lenders ask for an exit strategy. Equity Lenders asks for two. If your only plan is “refinance to a bank in six months”, work out a second leg before you apply: a property you could sell, a contract that pays out, or cash flow that could clear the loan over time. Lenders who insist on a backup tend to be the ones who’ve watched a single plan fall over.

How you pay interest changes the paperwork. The website says monthly-payment loans usually need a letter from your accountant, while loans with interest prepaid for the term often don’t. Prepaying reduces what lands in your account, though, so compare the net advance, not just the headline loan. See our explainer on prepaid interest for how that trade-off works.

The valuation is yours to pay, and it comes first. Equity Lenders says valuation fees are paid by the applicant before formal approval. On its LowRate products, a desktop valuation may be enough up to 65% LVR, with a full valuation above that. Budget for this cost even if the deal doesn’t go ahead.

The website also says it aims to give loan offers within an hour or two in most cases and to fund many first mortgages, second mortgages and caveats in under a week, with a day or two each for valuation and settlement.

Weighing this against other property-secured options? Send us the outline of your security and exit and we’ll say which kind of lender it suits.

Questions to ask Equity Lenders

1. Will you fund this yourselves, or will a panel lender? That decides who you’re dealing with at settlement and if anything changes mid-term.
2. Across the whole term, what will I pay in dollars? Count establishment, valuation, legal, line or management fees and any prepaid interest.
3. What happens if my exit is late? Ask about rollover terms and default charges in writing.
4. What LVR applies to my property type and postcode? The published maximums differ widely between asset types.
5. What’s the net amount I’ll receive? On short loans with prepaid interest and fees deducted, the cash in hand can be well below the loan amount.

If Equity Lenders isn’t the right fit

• You need less than $100k. A caveat loan from a lender with a lower minimum, or an unsecured business loan, may suit a smaller amount.
• You borrow as an individual. Some private lenders work with sole traders. Our page on sole trader business loans covers the options.
• You only have one exit. A longer second mortgage business loan or a first mortgage business loan on a longer term may give the plan room to work.
• The bank has said no. Banks are often the cheapest money, so it’s worth knowing why it declined. When the bank has declined you, that page sets out sensible next moves.

Other private, property-secured lenders profiled here include HomeSec Business Finance, Caveat Loans Capital and Secured Lending. Run your numbers through the second mortgage calculator before you compare offers.

Equity in a property and a plan to repay? Start here

Equity Lenders suits a company with solid property equity, a clear purpose and two believable ways to repay. If any part of that picture is less tidy, the right lender may be someone else, and finding that out early saves a valuation fee.

That’s the conversation we’re set up for. Our form takes roughly sixty seconds, and asking us leaves no mark on your credit history. Nothing you submit gets fired off to a crowd of funders, and one of our people works through your scenario before picking up the phone. Give us honest figures for the property, the amount and the deadline, and our first suggestion has a far better chance of being the right one.

Check my property-secured options →