Affordability is more than the listing price
A first-home buyer may find a property within budget and still be constrained by serviceability, insurance, body corporate costs, repairs or the lender's view of the asset. Investors face the same lending tests while also assessing tenancy demand and after-tax cash flow.
A lower purchase price is not automatically better value if the building has deferred work, the site cannot support the intended use or the likely rent depends on a household stretching beyond a sustainable level.
Understand the property before the strategy
Good decisions begin with the physical and regulatory reality of the property. Before relying on redevelopment, dual occupancy, subdivision or a residential-services model, buyers need appropriate advice about planning, building, access, infrastructure, finance and operating requirements.
- What can the property lawfully be used for today?
- What approvals and construction work would a future use require?
- Can the buyer fund both acquisition and delivery?
- Is there durable demand for the completed use?
- What happens if timing, rent or build cost moves against the plan?
A role for experienced, joined-up advice
Our work is to help clients ask these questions early. My finance and mortgage-broking background informs the lending side, while our property experience helps us assess tenancy, saleability and the practical realities of ownership.
We previously operated Queensland Buyers Advantage for interstate investors. Today, we continue to help owners, buyers and fund managers identify suitable South East Queensland opportunities, including developments that may expand housing in the region.