Apartment and business in one house. What kind of mortgage loan do banks have for such an occasion?
publication
2025-12-18 06:00
An architect's studio, a doctor's office or a notary's office can easily be located in the same property where we live. Banks are ready to finance such a joint venture, but they have different approaches to the initial conditions.
Moving to your own house or a more impressive apartment is usually an opportunity to expand your private living space. Sometimes it is also an opportunity to give up renting premises for business activities. This solution is particularly convenient for people performing professions who do not need specially prepared premises. A home office will work well for both a lawyer and a designer, and a properly planned workspace at home will not disturb the peace of the household.
A residential property with a separate commercial premises is a specific scenario from the banks' point of view. We are not dealing here with real estate used exclusively for residential purposes, nor with a purely business investment that an entrepreneur is trying to finance. However, this does not mean that lenders will not be willing to provide a loan for construction or purchase.
Expert indicates: “there are three options”
– A client who wants to finance such a property has several options. First of all, you can decide to a mortgage-secured loan for any purpose. There will be fewer formalities here, although it is a more expensive product, says Maciej Kikta, chief analyst at Expander Advisors.
In the current situation, a mortgage loan carries an interest rate of at least approximately 7-8 percent per annum. Typically, the ratio of the debt incurred to the value of the property serving as security (LTV ratio) is also lower than for residential mortgage loans.
The second option is a regular housing loan, but then you have to take into account the limits imposed by the lender.
– In case traditional housing loans
Different banks apply different restrictions – primarily regarding separate commercial space in a residential property. For most banks it is 30%, although there are also those that have adopted other thresholds: 20% and 50%. In each of these cases, this should be enough to buy an apartment with a separate office or study, emphasizes Maciej Kikta.
– Of course, there are banks that offer it loans tailored to this specific need – then the ratio of the residential to the commercial part does not matter. I would not like to mention specific names of banks, because a similar purchase is possible in most of them – says an Expander Advisors analyst.
How to prepare for a two-in-one loan?
– When it comes to preparation for taking out such a loan, it is identical to any other housing loan. You should start by self-assessing your finances and trying to put them in order to reduce your debts as much as possible and increase your creditworthiness. This is because depending on how well the bank evaluates us, we can receive such a good offer – points out Maciej Kikta.
– The next step is to complete the documents and submit the loan application. In our experience, most clients who apply for a loan on their own have problems at this stage. Each bank uses different procedures, and any error in preparing documents or completing the application may extend the process by up to two weeks. Therefore, it is worth using the help of an intermediary in this regard – emphasizes the expert.
The publication contains affiliate links.
