A step-by-step guide to property investing

Discover simple tips to get started on your property investing journey, including common wealth-creation strategies that may work for you.

Property investment can offer all sorts of benefits – additional income, capital growth, tax deductions, and the list goes on. If you’re considering an investment property purchase, we’ve put together a simple guide to help you get started. Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Formulate an investment strategy

The wonderful thing about property investing is that it opens your world up to different ways to potentially build your wealth.Some common strategies include:

  • Buying in an area with strong capital growth potential, then holding on to the property as the value increases.
  • Negatively gearing the property. This is when the expenses associated with owning the property are greater than the rental return and you can claim losses against your tax liability.
  • Positively gearing the property, whereby the rental return covers the expenses and provides a surplus cashflow.
  • Renovating to potentially add value to a property and increase the rental income, then holding on to it.
  • Flipping properties, which involves giving a fixer upper a facelift with a view to re-selling for a profit.
  • Buying off the plan.
  • Subdivision.

Each strategy comes with its own pros and cons, so it’s a good idea to speak to your financial advisor or accountant about which is right for you.

Step 2: Set your budget

Before you start browsing realestate.com.au, it’s important to understand what you can afford to buy. Some of the costs you’ll need to consider when setting your budget include:Initial costs

  • Deposit
  • Loan establishment fees
  • Lenders’ mortgage insurance (if you have less than 20% deposit)
  • Stamp duty (calculators are available here)
  • Conveyancing and legal fees
  • Building and pest inspection reports
  • Quantity Surveying fees – to create your Depreciation Schedule for the fixtures in the property, so you can maximise your tax deductions (after purchase).

Ongoing costs

  • Rates/government taxes
  • Insurance
  • Mortgage repayments
  • Body corporate fees
  • Utilities not paid by the tenant
  • Property management fees
  • Repairs and maintenance costs.

Step 3: Do your research

The key to buying the right investment property is to spend plenty of time researching.

You’ll want to consider the capital growth potential (the growth in the property’s value) and rental yield (the income the property will generate from the tenants).

These factors are driven by supply and demand, so try to find a property that will be in high demand by tenants and future potential buyers, with good access to amenities nearby.

Speak to us about our complimentary property market reports, which are loaded with useful information.

Step 4: Get a building and pest inspection done

Trust us when we say building and pest inspections are worth the money. The last thing you want is to discover your investment has a structural issue or termites once it’s all yours.

Step 5: Finalise your finance

Luckily this part is relatively straight forward– we’ll line up with the right investment loan for your specific needs.

Ready to get started?

We’re here to provide expert guidance about investment loans and structuring your finance. Talk to us today!

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Free

Yes, that’s right. You pay zero, zip, nada.

1st Street’s premium service comes at no cost to you! 1st Street is paid by the lender when your loan settles, however, this will not affect your interest rate or loan fees! It is often more cost-effective for a mortgage broker to process a loan rather than the lenders processing it themselves in-house. In fact, we often find that we can save you money by negotiating on your behalf.

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A word from our satisfied customers

Maxine Zhong
Maxine Zhong
19 October 2023
Amanda has been such an incredible support throughout our very first time going through the home loan process. Her thoughtfulness to regularly check in to make sure all our questions were answered and that all our documents were in place helped to make the whole daunting process feel seamless and easy. I could not recommend her enough - she made sure to keep us informed every step of the way and made sure all necessary documents/processes were completed well ahead of time so we never had to worry about missing any steps. She went well above and beyond her role, and I know we will definitely be coming back to her in the future, as well as recommending her to all of our networks! Thank you again, Amanda!
Mark Nesbitt
Mark Nesbitt
11 October 2023
Greg and the team provide an outstanding service. Highly recommended
Christine Tran
Christine Tran
23 September 2023
Yuval handled my first ever home loan, he did such an amazing job I asked to him to refinance for me 2 years later. Yuval made everything very easy for me, and will give his best recommendation as if it was his own. Would always recommend Yuval :)
David Petrini
David Petrini
25 August 2023
Yuval Bloomfield was an absolute delight to work with. He made it extremely easy for my clients to discuss about their financial situation. With Yuval's strong connections he was able to get the loan my clients wanted in very quick time. Will definitely refer Yuval again.
Sophie Linehan
Sophie Linehan
24 August 2023
Greg and the team at 1st Street were fantastic all the way through the process of getting our financing sorted and buying a new home. They not only secured us the most competitive mortgage in the market but they also gave advice on a number of mortgage-adjacent questions that came up along the way. Their responsive and thoughtful guidance helped make the nail-biting process clear and calm. We would definitely recommend their services.
Gabrielle Scott-Jones
Gabrielle Scott-Jones
18 August 2023
Greg and his team gave me exceptional advice and support. They were timely and detailed in their responses and dealt patiently with me as a first home buyer and all of my questions. The lender at the bank commented on how well I was being looked after compared with other brokers in the market. I’d highly recommend 1st Street to anyone, including friends and family.
Eli Simic
Eli Simic
15 August 2023
Great communication and fast service
Richard Kuipers
Richard Kuipers
11 August 2023
Jeremy and his team are superb. Negotiated the best deal for us and were an absolure pleasure to work with. Highly recommended, you can't do any better in my opinion.
Jordan Rivkin
Jordan Rivkin
1 August 2023
The team at 1st Street truly are professionals. I can't recommend Jeremy highly enough, he is extremely competent and just a great guy. You're in safe hands with 1st Street!
Yossi Bengida
Yossi Bengida
23 July 2023
Another amazing job by David and Bree. Always available for our questions, helpful and just 10/10 Seriously good work !! See you on the next one :) Yossi and liz