Property investors · Mortgage broking

Mortgage Broker for Property Investors

A Credit Representative who arranges investor lending and also understands the tax side. Credit Representative 565110 under ACL 561324 held by Loans Only Pty Ltd. Investment loans, equity release for the next deposit, interest-only renewals and portfolio serviceability — built around the lender whose investor policy fits your portfolio. In most residential lending scenarios, the lender pays broker commission. We explain remuneration in our Credit Guide.

Book an Investor Lending Scoping Call See Investment Property Loans

Where information on this page combines tax and lending considerations, tax-related statements are general only and depend on individual circumstances. Eternity Group Accountants is a registered tax agent (TPB 25523469). Mr Rohan Manokaran (Credit Representative 565110) is authorised under Australian Credit Licence 561324. Seek personal tax and credit advice based on your situation.

Why a broker-specific entry for investors

The broker for the portfolio, not just the property.

Investor lending is a policy-matching exercise played out across a portfolio over years. The job of the broker is to know how each lender reads rental income, negative gearing, existing investment debt and interest-only appetite — and to keep the structure clean enough that the next purchase is still possible.

There are three closely related pages in this area, and it helps to be clear about which is which. The investment property loans page is the product-side explainer — loan types, structure and how serviceability works for investors. The accountant for property investors page is the tax side — rental schedules, depreciation and capital gains positioning. This page is the broker service that sits at the line between the two: arranging the actual lending for investors while keeping the tax position in view.

For an owner-occupier, a home loan is usually a one-off event. For an investor, each loan is a move in a longer sequence. The way today’s loan is structured — interest-only or principal and interest, standalone or cross-secured, fixed or variable, which lender holds it — directly affects whether the next property is fundable. A clean structure preserves borrowing capacity and keeps each asset standalone. A tangled one can quietly close the door on the next deal.

That is the inefficiency this engagement removes: the same practitioner who reads your rental schedule at year end reads it the same way when building the application. Same documents, same numbers, both sides of the portfolio — without doing the work twice.

Where investor lender policy diverges

Six policy points that decide the lender.

Investor policy points

Rental income shading

Most lenders haircut rental income before it counts toward serviceability — commonly around 20–25 percent, with variation by property type, lease status and whether the property is short-stay. The shading rate alone can move borrowing capacity materially between lenders.

Negative gearing add-back

Where a property runs at a tax loss, some lenders add the negative-gearing benefit back into assessable income and some do not. Lenders that recognise it can lift capacity for a negatively geared portfolio. This is a serviceability mechanic, not tax advice.

Existing investment debt

How a lender assesses the debt on your other properties — at the actual repayment, at a higher notional rate, or as interest-only reverting to principal and interest — changes the picture for every additional loan you seek. Portfolio debt is where capacity is won or lost.

Interest-only appetite

Interest-only suits many investor cashflow and tax positions, but lender appetite for IO terms, IO renewals and maximum IO periods varies widely. Some lenders price IO higher; some restrict IO at higher LVRs. Matching IO appetite to your plan matters.

Exposure and property count

Lenders set limits on total exposure to one borrower and, sometimes, the number of properties or dwellings they will fund. Spreading a growing portfolio across the right lenders — rather than concentrating it — keeps future purchases open.

LVR and LMI thresholds

Investor LVR ceilings, lenders mortgage insurance bands and the usable-equity calculation differ across the panel. Where you sit against the 80 and 90 percent thresholds shapes both the deposit needed and whether an equity release is viable.

What we arrange for investors

The investor lending we handle.

New investment purchase

Standalone security · clean split

A purchase loan structured around the lender whose investor policy fits your portfolio, with the security and splits set up so the property can be refinanced or sold on its own later.

Equity release for the next deposit

Separate split · investment purpose

Usable equity released as its own split, with the loan purpose documented as investment so the structure stays clean and the interest is referable to the investment use of the funds.

Refinancing existing investment loans

Rate review · restructure

Reviewing the rate and structure on loans you already hold, untangling cross-collateralised security where it helps, and moving debt to a lender whose policy supports the next move.

Pre-approval for investors

Indicative · before you bid

A written pre-assessment and, where appropriate, a lender pre-approval so you can bid or negotiate with a clear, indicative position rather than a guess.

Also handled inside the engagement

Interest-only renewals

IO term · expiry management

Managing IO expiry before the loan rolls to principal and interest — assessing whether to renew IO with the current lender, refinance to a lender with better IO appetite, or move to P&I deliberately.

Portfolio serviceability review

Capacity across the panel

Modelling how your whole portfolio reads across the most-likely investor lenders, so you know your real borrowing headroom before you start looking at the next property.

How the engagement runs

From scoping to settlement, with the structure in view.

Portfolio scoping

We map what you already hold — properties, loans, lenders, IO expiry dates, rental income and equity — alongside your goal for the next 12 to 24 months. This is where the real borrowing headroom becomes visible.

Documents

Recent tax returns and rental schedules, loan and rate statements across the portfolio, lease agreements, rates notices and identification. Where the practice also prepares your returns, much of this is already on file.

Pre-assessment

Borrowing capacity modelled against the most-likely investor lenders for your portfolio shape, with a written shortlist and policy rationale — before any credit-file enquiry, to protect your credit position.

Structure decision

Standalone versus cross-secured, interest-only versus principal and interest, fixed versus variable, and which split carries the equity release. Decided deliberately, with the tax-purpose discipline kept clean and explained in writing.

Application

The application built around the chosen lender's investor policy, documentation already in hand. We respond to lender queries directly and report progress on a defined cadence through to approval.

Settlement & review

Conditional approval, then full approval, valuation and settlement. We diarise the IO expiry and the next equity review, so the portfolio keeps moving rather than drifting.

Where tax and lending meet

Loan purpose and deductibility stay aligned.

The single most common way investors damage their own position is by blurring loan purpose — drawing investment funds against a loan that also funds private spending. Keeping purpose clean is a structuring discipline, and it is one this engagement is built around.

Under current law, interest on borrowings used to acquire or hold an income-producing investment property is generally deductible, and the deductibility of interest broadly follows the use to which the borrowed funds are put. That principle is why we arrange equity releases and top-ups as separate, clearly-purposed splits rather than redrawing against a mixed loan: a clean split keeps the investment-purpose interest identifiable and the structure defensible. The statements here are general information only, not personal tax advice — the treatment in your case depends on your facts and the current law for the relevant income year.

Where the practice also prepares your rental schedules and tax returns, the structuring decision and the tax treatment are made by the same practitioner, in the same conversation. For a deeper look at loan-purpose discipline and debt recycling for investors, the tax-aware mortgage strategy page covers the strategy side, and the property investor strategy page describes the combined tax-plus-lending engagement.

How we are paid

How we are paid: Eternity Mortgage Solutions typically receives commissions from the lender for loans arranged on your behalf. A full explanation of how we are paid, our lender panel and any potential conflicts of interest is provided in our Credit Guide and Credit Proposal Disclosure document, available on request before any loan application is submitted.

Frequently asked questions

Investor mortgage broking — common questions.

Common questions

How is this different from your Investment Property Loans page?

The Investment Property Loans page is the product-side entry — what an investment loan actually is, the loan types, structure options and serviceability mechanics for investors. This page is the broker-side service for investors who are searching specifically for a mortgage broker who works on property portfolios and reads the rental schedule the same way at tax time as at the application. The product page explains the loan; this page is about the person arranging it and the investor-specific policy work behind it.

What makes investor lending different from owner-occupier lending?

Investor applications turn on policy points that owner-occupier applications rarely reach: how each lender shades rental income (most apply a haircut, commonly around 20–25 percent, with variation by property type and lease status), how negative gearing is added back into serviceability, how existing investment debt across the portfolio is assessed at an actual or a higher notional rate, the lender appetite for interest-only terms, and the maximum number of properties or total exposure a lender will hold. The right lender is the one whose investor policy fits your portfolio — not simply the one with a low headline rate.

Can you help me release equity for the next deposit?

Yes — equity release for the next deposit is one of the most common reasons investors engage a broker. We assess usable equity against lender LVR thresholds, confirm the loan purpose is investment so the structure stays clean, and arrange the release as a separate split rather than blending it into existing debt. Where the released funds are for an investment purpose, deductibility of interest generally follows the use of the funds, but that is general information only and the tax treatment depends on your facts — the dedicated equity-release page covers this in detail.

Why do you avoid cross-collateralisation where possible?

Cross-collateralisation — securing one loan against two or more of your properties — can feel convenient at the application stage, but it ties your portfolio together. Selling one property can trigger a revaluation of the whole security pool, the lender controls how sale proceeds are applied, and refinancing one loan can require unwinding the others. We generally structure each property as a standalone security with its own loan split so each asset can be sold, refinanced or released on its own. There are cases where cross-securitisation suits a specific goal; where it does, we explain the trade-off in writing first.

How are you remunerated?

Do I have to be a tax client of the practice as well?

No. Many investor broker clients keep their existing accountant and engage us for the lending only. Where you also want the same practitioner preparing the rental schedules and reviewing the structure that drives next year’s borrowing position, the engagement combines naturally — the income shown to the lender and the income lodged with the ATO line up. The choice is yours and is confirmed in writing before any work begins.

Can you confirm borrowing capacity or approval upfront?

No. We model investor lender policy carefully and prepare a written pre-assessment based on your documents and a specific lender’s policy at the time. The lender’s own assessment — covering verification, valuation, rental evidence, credit history and current policy — is the binding outcome. Eligibility, lender criteria, fees and charges apply to every application, and outcomes depend on the lender’s assessment of the facts. The pre-assessment is an indicative position, not a commitment by a lender.

Where this fits in the bigger picture

The investor broker service connects to the product page, the refinance and equity-release pages, the tax side and the combined investor strategy engagement.