First investment property checklist

Home value, loan balance, savings, income, existing debts and super. Write the real numbers down. The usable equity calculator gives you a rough read on what may be available.

Equity is not serviceability. Find out what a lender would actually approve at their assessment rate with your commitments counted — see the borrowing power guide. Decide between cash deposit or released equity, and check whether LMI applies.

Stamp duty, conveyancing, building and pest, lender and registration fees, initial landlord insurance. List them with the upfront costs guide, then keep several months of repayments and holding costs untouched on top.

Growth, cash flow, or a compromise between them. Be specific about your timeframe and what weekly shortfall you can carry. See cash flow vs tax treatment and house vs unit.

Rental demand, vacancy trends, supply coming online, transport and employment. Ask how anyone recommending a property is paid. Read off-the-plan risks before signing anything with a long settlement.

Independent building and pest inspection. Strata report and minutes for any unit — levies, sinking fund, defects, special levies. Contract reviewed by your own conveyancer or solicitor before you sign, not after.

Whose name, or what entity, and why. Talk to a registered tax agent or accountant before the contract, because it is difficult and expensive to change afterwards. Ask about depreciation schedules and record keeping too.

Interview two or three locals. Fees, arrears process, inspection frequency, maintenance authority, how they handle rent reviews. See what a property manager does.

Landlord insurance plus building cover (or confirm strata cover). Assume the property will sit empty for some weeks each year and that something will break. Model it in the holding costs estimator.

Rent, loan rate, insurance, condition and whether the property is still doing the job you bought it to do. A yearly hour beats a decade of drift.