Inherited a property? Get it onto your title before the business needs the equity

Inheriting a property can change what your business is able to do. Equity like that can carry a business through a lean quarter, a big contract or an ATO problem. But a lender doesn’t read the will. It reads the title register, and until your name is on it, the property can’t secure a loan for you. This guide covers how an inheritance gets onto title, why it takes the time it does, and what you can do while you wait.

Why can’t I borrow against it straight away?

A caveat loan (like any property-secured loan) is secured by an interest that you, the owner, grant to the lender. The lender then lodges its caveat against your title. That only works if the land registry shows you as the registered proprietor.

After a death, the title stays in the deceased’s name until someone lodges the right dealing. If the property passes under a will, it then goes into the executor’s name for a period. Either way, the register doesn’t show you yet. Being a beneficiary gives you an expectation, but it isn’t a registered interest a lender can rely on. A title search at this point would show the deceased or the executor as owner. Our guide on how to read a title search explains what each line means.

Which path will the title take?

It depends first on how the deceased held the property. The title search tells you.

How the deceased held title	What happens on death	Dealing that updates the title
Joint tenants with you	You take their share automatically by survivorship. It doesn’t pass under the will	Notice or application of survivorship (e.g. Victoria’s Application by Surviving Proprietor; Queensland’s Form 4 Request to record death)
Sole owner	The property forms part of the estate	Grant of probate or letters of administration, then a transmission application, then a transfer or distribution
Tenants in common	The deceased’s share forms part of the estate	Same as sole owner, for that share

The joint-tenancy path is usually the quickest. Victoria’s guide to the Application by Surviving Proprietor describes it as the form used when two or more people are registered as joint proprietors. Queensland’s Form 4 lets a surviving joint tenant record the death. Once that’s registered, the register shows you as sole owner.

The estate path takes longer, because there are more steps and more people involved.

What are the steps when the property passes under a will?

In broad terms, every state follows the same order:

1. Grant of probate (or letters of administration if there’s no valid will). The Supreme Court confirms who has authority to deal with the estate.
2. Transmission application. NSW Land Registry Services describes this as the dealing that registers the executor, administrator or trustee, or the devisee or beneficiary, as proprietor where the deceased held solely or as a tenant in common.
3. Transfer or distribution to you. The executor transfers the property to the beneficiary. In NSW a devisee can sometimes be registered directly through a transmission application. LRS notes that when a devisee, beneficiary or next of kin applies, duty verification by Revenue NSW is needed before lodgement.

Your name is on title only after step 3 is registered. That’s the point at which the property becomes usable security.

Why does the executor make me wait?

Executors carry personal risk. In NSW, section 92 of the Probate and Administration Act 1898 protects an executor who distributes after six months from the date of death and after a notice of intended distribution has been advertised and its 30-day period has passed. Distribute earlier, and the executor can be personally exposed to claims they didn’t know about. Other states have their own versions of the same caution.

So even in a simple estate, waiting six months or more before the property reaches you is normal. If someone contests the will, it can take much longer. That’s the timeline to plan around, and the reason to start early.

What should I do now, before the business needs it?

This is title homework, and you can do most of it on a quiet afternoon.

• Order a current title search and confirm how the deceased held the property (joint tenants, tenants in common or sole owner) and whether there’s a mortgage on it.
• Ask the executor or estate solicitor for a realistic timeline: when probate was granted (or will be applied for), when the transmission will be lodged and when they expect to transfer.
• Check the name. NSW LRS requires the deceased’s name in a transmission application to match the register exactly. Mismatches between the will, the death certificate and the title cause delays. Raise them early.
• Agree how co-beneficiaries will hold it. If you’re inheriting with siblings, decide whether you’ll keep the property together, sell it, or have one person buy the others out. A lender will need every registered owner to sign.
• Think about which entity should own it. If the business runs through a company or trust, ask your accountant before the transfer whether the property should stay in your personal name. Changing the owner later can cost duty. Our page on trust or company property covers how lenders treat each structure.
• Know your CGT position if you might sell. The ATO’s inherited property and CGT rules can exempt a gain on a dwelling sold within two years of the death, if the conditions are met. There’s also an 18-month safe harbour extension in some circumstances. A sale date chosen with those rules in mind can make a much better exit.

Then add the property to your annual equity check as soon as the transfer is registered.

Already on title and need funds against it now? See if you qualify. It takes about 60 seconds.

Can my inheritance help before it’s in my name?

Sometimes, but not as security. It can work as the exit.

If you already own property with equity, such as your home, an investment or your business premises, a caveat loan can be secured over that property, with your expected share of the estate as the way the loan ends. Lenders look closely at exits like this. They’ll usually want to see:

• the grant of probate, or evidence it has been applied for;
• a copy of the will, or a letter from the estate solicitor confirming your entitlement;
• the estate’s expected timeline, including any sale of estate property; and
• confirmation that nobody has made, or threatened, a claim against the estate.

A clean, uncontested estate with probate granted is a far stronger exit than “Mum’s will leaves me the house”. A contested estate generally isn’t a workable exit at all. Our exit strategy page explains how lenders weigh this. Build a buffer into the term, because estates rarely finish early.

A worked example (illustrative only)

A Launceston joiner inherits a parent’s weatherboard house outright. The parent dies in February. Probate is granted in May, and the executor transfers the house in late August, after the protective waiting period. In October, a commercial fit-out contract needs $180,000 for materials and a second CNC machine before the first progress claim lands.

	Figure (illustrative)
Value of the inherited house (lender’s valuation)	$620,000
Existing mortgage on it	Nil
Proposed caveat loan	$180,000
Combined LVR	about 29%
Planned exit	Progress claims over four months, or refinance to a longer loan

Because the transfer was registered in August, the house shows on title in the joiner’s name and the loan can be assessed on the property and the exit. If the same contract had landed in April, before probate, the house couldn’t have been used. The joiner would have needed other property, with the inheritance as the exit.

Want to run your own numbers? The Caveat Loan Feasibility Checker works out combined LVR and timing in a couple of minutes. Our page on residential property as security covers what lenders look at in the house itself.

What if the plan is to sell the inherited property?

Selling is a common exit, and the caveat simply gets paid out at settlement. The order of events matters. The property has to be in your name (or sold by the executor, with the proceeds then distributed to you) before it can secure anything or repay anything. If you plan to borrow against it now and sell it later, check three things first. Can the sale realistically settle within your loan term? Does the CGT timing suit you? Have co-owners agreed? Our guide to selling a property with a caveat loan on title walks through the settlement mechanics.

Inherited equity, ready when the business needs it

Losing a parent or relative is hard enough without a funding deadline on top. Finishing the title work early means that if the business needs money later, the property is already usable, and the conversation is about numbers, not paperwork.

When you’re ready, start with our short enquiry. It takes about 60 seconds, and there’s no credit check when you first enquire. Your details don’t go out to a pile of lenders, so your phone won’t light up with calls from strangers. A real person reads your situation, including where the estate is up to, and calls you to talk it through. Please fill the form in accurately: whose name is on the title today, whether probate has been granted, and when the exit should land. That lets us match the right option the first time.

See if you qualify →