Invest in property

Investing in property involves different lending considerations compared to buying a home to live in. Lenders often assess income, expenses, deposits and loan structures differently for investment loans.

We provide credit assistance to help you understand how investment lending works, explain how different loan features may apply, and guide you through the process step by step.

No two investment loans are the same. Our role is to help you understand your borrowing options, compare lending structures across a broad panel of lenders, and support you through to settlement.

How we support property investors

We help property investors by:

  • Explaining how lenders assess rental income and expenses 
  • Discussing deposit and equity options 
  • Comparing loan structures, including interest-only and principal and interest 
  • Explaining how loan features such as offsets and redraw may apply to investment loans 
  • Managing the application, approval and settlement process 

Where relevant, we also help explain how lenders treat multiple properties and portfolio-style lending.

Common investment scenarios

Property investors can approach investment lending in different ways. From a lending perspective, we commonly assist clients with scenarios such as:

Rentvesting

Rentvesting is where you continue to rent your own home while purchasing an investment property elsewhere. From a lending perspective, this involves assessing rental income, expenses and borrowing capacity differently to an owner-occupied purchase.

Positive and negative gearing

Positive and negative gearing describe how rental income compares to the ongoing costs of an investment property.

  • Positive gearing occurs when rental income exceeds the ongoing costs of the property.
  • Negative gearing occurs when rental income is less than the ongoing costs, requiring the shortfall to be funded from other income sources.

Lenders assess these scenarios differently depending on income, expenses and loan structure. Our role is to explain how these factors are treated from a lending perspective.

Decisions around financial and tax advice are considered within your Ironbark advice team as part of your broader advice framework.

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Working alongside your advice team

Where appropriate, we work closely with your financial adviser or accountant to ensure the lending structure supports your broader financial position. Our role is to provide credit assistance and implement the lending component, while strategic advice, tax considerations and investment suitability are handled by your Ironbark Advice - Financial Advice team.

Page last updated: 17 March 2026

Not sure where to start?

We can also help if any of the following apply to you:

Important information

This content has been prepared by Cornerstone Financial Group Pty Ltd trading as Ironbark Advice, a Corporate Authorised Representative of LMG Broker Services Pty Ltd (ACN 632 405 504) Australian Credit Licence no. 517192. It contains general information only and does not consider your personal financial circumstances or needs. Before making any financial decision, you should consider obtaining professional advice. Any opinions expressed are the opinions of the authors at the time of posting, and do not constitute a recommendation to act. These opinions may change after an item is posted and no warranty of currency is provided. All information referenced is believed to be accurate at the time of compilation and is provided by Ironbark Advice in good faith. This content may contain information contributed by third parties. Ironbark Advice does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information contributed by a third party. No representation or warranty as to the quality, accuracy, reliability, timeliness or completeness of this material is made by Ironbark or its representatives. To the extent permitted by law, Ironbark Advice is not liable for any loss or damage arising because of a reliance placed on the contents of this page.