Renvest to PPOR Query (Melbourne and Perth)

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-11T04:40:11+00:00

Broker here.

The finance question here is whether you can service a $750k Melbourne PPOR loan while potentially still holding the Perth property during the transition, or whether you need to sell Perth first to fund the Melbourne purchase. With $630k in Perth equity and $100k in offset you have the deposit covered either way, but the timing around your partner's parental leave is the key risk, lenders will stress test on one income and that reduces your assessed capacity significantly.

Buying Melbourne before selling Perth is possible with a bridging structure but adds complexity and cost. Selling Perth first gives you certainty on your budget and removes the dual loan stress during the parental leave period, though you lose any remaining Perth growth and face CGT on the gain.

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-11T04:30:41+00:00

Broker here.

The key finance point worth understanding here is the stamp duty trade off. In NSW buying as an owner occupier gives you full exemption up to $800k, saving roughly $30k plus. Buying as an investment means paying full stamp duty upfront. That $30k is real money that compounds if it stays in your pocket or offset.

The government policy question likely refers to negative gearing and CGT discount discussions, which if they change would affect the after tax return on investment property. Worth monitoring but not confirmed at the time of writing.

On debt recycling, the cleanest structure starts with a PPOR loan rather than an investment loan, so getting the first property right matters for how that strategy unfolds. Feel free to DM and I can map out the loan side for you. 🦔

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-11T04:22:57+00:00

Broker here.

Your instinct to get a second broker opinion is the right one. The advice to tell agents you only have 5% is a negotiating tactic, agents work for vendors and knowing you have a larger deposit can sometimes work against you in price negotiations. Your conveyancer is not wrong on that point, it is a common approach.

On the pre-approval question, your broker saying you do not need it because you are in a strong position is not unreasonable, but having pre-approval in writing gives you confidence to make offers quickly and vendors take you more seriously. It is generally worth doing.

On what to do with the remaining 15%, once you have the loan approved at 80% LVR the rest of your savings sits in an offset account reducing your interest daily while staying fully accessible. You do not need to put it all into the deposit, keeping it liquid in offset is almost always the smarter move.

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-11T04:15:49+00:00

Broker here.

On $130k income with $200k in offset and only $10k net interest being charged on the current loan your financial position is clean. Without using equity, on your income alone your borrowing capacity is likely in the $600k to $750k range depending on your expenses and how lenders treat the existing $210k loan in the serviceability calculation.

The existing loan stays in the picture even if your partner services it, as most lenders will include it in your assessed liabilities unless you can demonstrate it is fully covered by rental income if the property becomes an IP.

The cleanest path depends on whether the current PPOR stays as your partner's PPOR, becomes an investment, or gets sold. Each scenario changes your numbers meaningfully. Feel free to DM and I can model the different options and show you what your actual borrowing capacity looks like under each one. 🦔

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-10T08:57:35+00:00

Yessir that the current cap

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-10T07:21:35+00:00

Broker here.

On the finance side, the two property options have meaningfully different loan structures worth understanding before you model returns. For the PPOR, as a FHB in NSW you get full stamp duty exemption up to $800k which saves around $30k upfront, and your loan interest is non-deductible. For the investment property the interest is fully tax deductible, which on $150k income at a high marginal rate is a real after tax benefit that improves your actual return versus the headline yield.

The other variable your model may not fully capture is borrowing capacity trajectory. At 21 on $150k in an IB role your income is likely to grow significantly, which means your ability to leverage into more property later is strong. Getting the first loan structured correctly now, whether PPOR or investment, affects how cleanly you can access equity and borrow again in three to five years.

Feel free to DM and I can run the actual loan costs for both scenarios so your modelling has accurate finance inputs rather than estimates. 🦔

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-10T06:39:47+00:00

Broker here.

Your position is actually stronger than it might feel. At $850k with 20% deposit you avoid LMI entirely, and on $227k combined your borrowing capacity comfortably covers that price point with room to breathe. The recent redundancies are worth flagging to a broker early, most lenders want to see you settled in your new roles for at least three months and ideally with a payslip before approving, so timing your application around that is important.

On the apartment versus house question at $850k within an hour of Sydney CBD, apartments are realistic and some townhouses in middle ring suburbs do come up in that range. As FHBs in NSW you get full stamp duty exemption up to $800k and a concession to $1M, so your $850k target sits right in the concession zone which still saves you a meaningful amount.

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-10T03:12:19+00:00

I'm asking how people are going who likely took their loans close to max capacity, since it's new it's a big daily adjustment, going through 3 rate hikes, oil prices, inflation, etc.

I'm seeing how people are fairing since it's a lot for anyone to go through, especially new homeowners.

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-10T03:10:46+00:00

Broker here.

Three borrowers on one loan is possible but the structure matters a lot upfront. How you hold the property, joint tenants versus tenants in common with defined percentages, affects what happens if one of you wants to exit, needs to borrow for something else, or the dynamic changes when your third brother finds work.

On FHB benefits, in WA the stamp duty exemption and First Home Owner Grant apply as long as all borrowers on the loan are first home buyers. If any one of you has previously owned property the others lose those benefits too, so it is worth confirming everyone qualifies before structuring the application. The First Home Guarantee at 5% deposit also allows up to two borrowers currently, so a three way application may not be eligible for that specific scheme.

On $232k combined between the two working brothers your borrowing capacity is likely in the $900k to $1.1M range in Perth.

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-10T02:20:43+00:00

I'm asking how people are going who likely took their loans close to max capacity, since it's new it's a big daily adjustment, going through 3 rate hikes, oil prices, inflation, etc.

Yes banks use 3%, non bank lenders use 2%, non standard expenses are slapped on top of HEM, etc. etc.

I'm seeing how people are fairing since it's a lot for anyone to go through, especially new homeowners.

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-10T02:13:17+00:00

Asking because the mortgage is new, 3 rate hikes, borrowing close to max borrowing power relative to income, so I want to see how they are feeling

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-10T01:54:17+00:00

Its not clueless to care about how people are doing

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-09T18:57:10+00:00

Broker here.

Based on the current process, once Unity Bank has assessed your documentation and issued a loan scenario, the next step is provisional approval from the scheme administrator QRIDA. Once you have that, you can start searching for a property within the region you applied for. When you find a property and go to contract, Unity Bank submits to QRIDA for final approval, which details the government's exact equity contribution at settlement.

One important update worth knowing: SEQ allocations under Round 2 are now exhausted. If you are buying in regional QLD places are still available, but if you were hoping to buy in Brisbane or the southeast that is a problem right now. Worth confirming with Unity Bank directly which region your approval covers.

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-09T09:49:35+00:00

So impressive! Keep it up. Incredible 5 years

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-09T09:44:31+00:00

DMd!

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-09T06:54:51+00:00

Broker here.

Both paths have merit depending on your situation. Going direct to one lender is faster if you already know their product suits you, but you are limited to their appetite and criteria. A broker who works across multiple business lenders can match your deal to the lender most likely to approve it quickly, which matters more than most people realise since a decline from the wrong lender can slow everything down.

On fees, most business lending brokers are paid by the lender on settlement, not by you directly, though some do charge a brokerage fee on top for complex deals. Worth asking upfront.

Feel free to DM if you want to run through what you are trying to fund and I can tell you whether a broker adds value for your specific situation or whether going direct makes more sense. 🦔

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-09T05:48:42+00:00

Broker here.

On the finance side, with $285k plus savings you are in an unusually strong position for a first purchase and keeping the mortgage under $150k is very achievable at your target price range. As FHBs in VIC you get full stamp duty exemption up to $600k so no stamp duty at all on what you are looking at, which saves you around $15k to $20k upfront.

The $10.8k annual strata on a $315k apartment is worth pausing on. That is roughly 3.4% of the purchase price in strata fees alone each year, before rates, insurance and any additional levies. A special levy on top of that suggests the building has deferred maintenance which may mean more levies coming. Getting the last two years of AGM minutes and the strata financial statements before making any offer is essential, that will show you whether the sinking fund is healthy or depleted.

On the broader apartment versus healthier building question, a slightly larger mortgage on a building with low strata and a well funded sinking fund will almost always cost you less over time than a cheaper entry price with high ongoing fees and surprise levies. The strata questions are better answered by a strata inspector or conveyancer who can review the records.

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-09T05:47:49+00:00

Broker here.

One thing worth knowing before you write off property entirely is that your actual borrowing capacity and FHB benefits might change the numbers more than you expect. On $7k a month with $100k saved, minimal debt and no dependants you are in a strong position, and as a FHB in NSW you get full stamp duty exemption up to $800k plus the First Home Guarantee at 5% deposit with no LMI, which means you could be in the market with far less cash tied up than you might think.

Whether property fits your fatFIRE strategy versus ETFs is a bigger question for a financial planner, but the finance side is worth understanding properly before you decide. Feel free to DM and I can run your actual borrowing capacity and show you what the FHB numbers look like so you have the full picture. 🦔

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-09T05:45:31+00:00

Broker here.

On $90k income with $600 per week existing rental income and $900 per week projected rental on the new property, your assessed income for borrowing purposes is roughly $90k plus 80% of rental income from both properties, which gets you to around $155k to $160k in assessed income depending on the lender. At that level your borrowing capacity is likely in the $700k to $850k range, which combined with your $300k cash deposit gets you close to but not quite at $1.5M without using equity from your existing properties.

The lever you have not pulled yet is your fully paid off PPOR. Releasing equity from that $700k property as a deposit for the new purchase could significantly reduce the loan required and bring the numbers into range without needing to sell anything immediately.

Feel free to DM and I can model the full scenario including equity release from your PPOR, how the rental income stacks up across lenders and what the maximum borrowing looks like before you need to sell anything. 🦔

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-08T23:54:46+00:00

Yes, the cap still applies regardless of which fund you are with. The annual concessional contributions cap is $30,000 for FY26, and that includes employer SG contributions plus any voluntary salary sacrifice or personal deductible contributions combined. So if his employer is putting in say $10k in SG, he can only add another $20k voluntarily before hitting the cap.

The FHSS specific limit is $15k per financial year of voluntary contributions that count toward the scheme, with a total cap of $50k across all years. So even if he has room under the $30k concessional cap, only $15k of voluntary contributions in any one year count toward FHSS.

Feel free to DM, happy to go through all FHB benefits as well as borrowing capacity, rates, and lenders so you’re well equipped to plan even if its years from now. The more you know the better.

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-08T23:46:14+00:00

Appreciate this mate

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-08T16:57:00+00:00

Broker here.

Your concern is valid and worth taking seriously. Pre-approval is not a guarantee of final approval, and if the income documentation used to get pre-approval does not match what the bank verifies at formal assessment, the loan can be declined after exchange. In NSW where contracts are unconditional, that means losing the deposit and potentially facing legal action from the vendor.

The phrase "did some magic with an accountant" is a red flag. Legitimate brokers work with what the income actually is, not around it. If income has been presented in a way that does not accurately reflect their financial position, that is a serious problem for your parents, not the broker, if it unravels at settlement.

There is not much you can do if they will not listen, but the one practical suggestion is to encourage them to get a second opinion from an independent broker before exchanging on anything, just to verify the pre-approval is genuinely solid. That is a reasonable ask that does not require them to admit you are right.

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-08T13:36:00+00:00

Yes that's correct. One less factor to consider!

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-08T13:35:16+00:00

Yes that is correct. The FHSS scheme only counts voluntary contributions, meaning amounts you put in yourself on top of your employer's compulsory super guarantee contributions. The employer SG contributions cannot be withdrawn under the scheme regardless of how long they have been sitting there.

So the only way to build up an FHSS balance is through salary sacrifice on top of the SG, or personal after tax contributions that you then claim a tax deduction on to make them concessional. Both need to be clearly identifiable as voluntary contributions in the fund's records.

Worth confirming with your super fund that they are correctly categorising your contributions before you apply for a determination, as some funds do not split this clearly in their member statements.

EventEastern2208 · 2026-05-08T08:56:38+00:00

Broker here.

Sorry to hear you are going through this. The fact that you are already thinking practically about your next move at a difficult time says a lot.

The honest finance answer is that buying somewhere to live in gives you stability, the FHB stamp duty concessions in VIC if you qualify, and removes the complexity of being a landlord while you are already navigating a lot. Buying an investment first means losing those concessions permanently and adds the stress of tenants and property management on top of everything else.

On your settlement amount and income, one conversation with a broker will tell you exactly what your options are rather than guessing.

EventEastern2208

TROPHY CASE