I am wondering if I can use ifunds in my SIPP to provide a deposit on commercial property using the following method :

Another way the SIPP can be used is through a ‘joint’ purchase between you and your SIPP. So for example, if you have £200,000 in the SIPP and you wanted to buy a property for £400,000 you can buy the property jointly with the fund and yourself. So in this example, with the property being bought for £400,000, if you decided that £100,000 (25%) of the property is to be purchased (and therefore owned) by the fund, and £300,000 (75%) by you (being financed perhaps by a mortgage), then 25% of the rental income derived must be put back into the SIPP and 75% can go to you.

Do you know it this method has been tried and tested, and of a SIPP provider that would be willing to purchase a property in this manner. I have been looking at overseas commercial property aswell

Sounds interesting you can usually borrow upto 50% of the Sipp assets but I would check with your SIPP provider ever considered commercial property in Liverpool?

A couple of good SIPP providers are James Hay and AJ Bell

I've invested in a commercial property syndicate using my SIPP as I didn't have enough pension funds to buy a commercial property on my own. I used a company called Attivo.

Kimberley Charman
Director, Property Investors Road

You can't use the SIPP to buy a property overseas. Issues with trust ownership put paid to that particular idea.

Following major changes to pension legislation in April 2006 a SIPP may borrow 50% of the scheme's net fund value at the borrowing date.

Regarding SIPP providers, James Hay are not one I would recommend - I have had too many problems with clients SIPPs in the past. I am a UK registered IFA, so please feel free to PM me for advice.

this is copied from the government website, IR76, appendix 24 , under the title permitted investments for SIPPS :

• Commercial property (including land whether development land, farmland or forestry) in or outside the UK including
- hotels and motels

A SIPP is a Trust and many countries do not recognise such legal entities when it comes to property ownership, which means that buying overseas property with your SIPP is not possible.

It is a great theory, but the practice does not hold up.

As you say many companies do not recognise a trust, but some countries do, I know many people are buying in the Philippines, but this is not where I chose to buy using my SIPP.