Melbourne investment property mortgage broker · Australia-wide
The loan for this property should still make sense when you're ready for the next one
Getting approved is the easy half. The half that matters is whether the lender, the structure and the equity you've used still leave you room to move next time. We'll test it across 40+ lenders and show you what each option does to the next purchase.
The wrong loan doesn't look wrong on day one. It looks like an approval.
The wrong loan doesn't look wrong on day one. It looks like an approval.
The wrong loan
You find something that stacks up, the finance goes through, everyone's pleased. Job done. Then a year or two later you come back for the next one and find the lender you picked, the structure you took or the equity you spent has been rearranging what's possible and nobody told you.
Which is fair enough, in a way. At the time the only question anyone was asking was whether this one would get across the line.
Buying the property is one decision. Financing it is a different one.
The wrong loan
THE NUMBERS SPEAK, LOUDLY. THE NUMBERS SPEAK, LOUDLY. THE NUMBERS SPEAK, LOUDLY. THE NUMBERS SPEAK, LOUDLY. THE NUMBERS SPEAK, LOUDLY. THE NUMBERS SPEAK, LOUDLY. THE NUMBERS SPEAK, LOUDLY. THE NUMBERS SPEAK, LOUDLY. THE NUMBERS SPEAK, LOUDLY. THE NUMBERS SPEAK, LOUDLY.
Not a property opinion. Lending experience.
Approved and well structured are not the same thing.
100+
five star reviews
Because a loan shouldn't have to become obviously bad before someone checks it.
250+
Clients
First purchases, investment loans, refinances and the moves that came after them.
40+
lenders
They all assess rental income, existing debt and borrowing capacity differently, so the same investor gets different answers depending who's asked.
The goal isn't squeezing another approval out of the numbers. It's making sure this decision still leaves room for the next one, the same room StephANIE left herself when she was building her own portfolio.
7+
Years broking
Enough scenarios to know the difference, and to spot it before you sign.
See what this loan does to the next one before you choose it
Every option side by side, with the reasoning attached
We start with what you own, what you owe, what your equity actually frees up and what you're planning after this one. Then we run it across the relevant lenders and build the Game Plan: the options, the policy differences, the trade-offs and why we're recommending what we are.
You get the numbers, the trade-offs and our honest recommendation, in that order. Which is different to being handed one approval and a pen.
And if the numbers say this isn't the moment? You'll hear that before you've signed anything.
Strategy first. Application second.
Debt is easy to take on. Options are the thing worth protecting.
Any broker can find a lender willing to fund this. The harder question is what it leaves you holding afterwards: how much equity is still working, what your borrowing position looks like to the next lender, and whether the structure suits what you're planning to do next.
Investment lending, with the next move already in view
Inclusions
Inclusions:
The Pay Off Point Strategy: the method many of Steph's clients are using to pay off their home loan with an investment property
It's modelling, not a promise. Growth isn't guaranteed, so we'll still want your actual numbers in front of us before this becomes a real plan.
Buying an investment property to eventually clear your home loan isn't a new idea. What's harder to find is a calculator that actually models it properly, growth, holding costs and capital gains tax on the sale, rather than a rough back-of-envelope guess. Steph built one, because it's the exact strategy she walks clients through when it's the right fit, and she wanted a tool as thorough as the advice she gives in the room.
Coordination with your accountant, adviser, conveyancer or buyer's agent where it's useful
Ongoing reviews after settlement, so the lending doesn't disappear into a drawer until something goes wrong
Broker fees: nothing, in almost every case. We're paid by whichever lender you choose, not by you. In rare, out-of-the-ordinary scenarios we may charge a fee, but you'll always know upfront.
A Game Plan with the options, the trade-offs and the reasoning, in a document you keep
Your next purchase factored into this one, if there is one, so today's structure doesn't box you in
Rental income and existing debts checked against each lender's policy, since they don't all treat them the same way
Equity scenarios mapped before you decide how much to use, because available and advisable aren't the same figure
Your borrowing position tested across 40+ lenders, so you know how different policies read the same numbers
Your borrowing position tested across 40+ lenders, so you know how different policies read the same numbers
Equity scenarios mapped before you decide how much to use, because available and advisable aren't the same figure
Rental income and existing debts checked against each lender's policy, since they don't all treat them the same way
Your next purchase factored into this one, if there is one, so today's structure doesn't box you in
A Game Plan with the options, the trade-offs and the reasoning, in a document you keep
Coordination with your accountant, adviser, conveyancer or buyer's agent where it's useful
Ongoing reviews after settlement, so the lending doesn't disappear into a drawer until something goes wrong
Broker fees: nothing, in almost every case. We're paid by whichever lender you choose, not by you. In rare, out-of-the-ordinary scenarios we may charge a fee, but you'll always know upfront.
The Pay Off Point Strategy: the method many of Stephanie's clients are using to pay off their home loan with an investment property
It's modelling, not a promise. Growth isn't guaranteed, so we'll still want your actual numbers in front of us before this becomes a real plan.
Buying an investment property to eventually clear your home loan isn't a new idea. What's harder to find is a calculator that actually models it properly, growth, holding costs and capital gains tax on the sale, rather than a rough back-of-envelope guess. Stephanie built one, because it's the exact strategy she walks clients through when it's the right fit, and she wanted a tool as thorough as the advice she gives in the room.
Five steps.
The strategy happens first, and nobody touches a form until step four.
The Quick Chat
Twenty minutes on what you own, what you're looking at, and whether this is one purchase or the first of a few.
01
The discovery call
02
Income, expenses, debts, existing loans, equity and the property. Then we find out what different lenders would make of it.
The Loan Strategy Meeting
03
Every relevant option on screen at once, with the policy differences, the trade-offs and our actual recommendation, all captured in your Game Plan. You decide, but not from a blank slate.
04
The admin
Application, valuation, documents, and the part where a lender asks for a payslip you're certain you already sent. We do the chasing.
Settlement,
then the years after it.
05
The property settles and the lending stays under review. Next time you're looking at something, you already know where you stand.
Most lenders will fund one investment property. Fewer are the right choice if you're building a portfolio.
Most lenders
Most lenders
They disagree on how much rental income counts, how hard your existing loans are assessed, and how much equity you can use. Barely matters on your first property. Decides it by your third.
"We had no idea that releasing equity was even an option"
ASHLEIGH BARBER
"Steph took the time to educate us, explain the process clearly, and show us what was possible. Because of her expertise, guidance, and support, we were able to successfully purchase two investment properties this year alone."
"Focusing on our long-term financial outcomes, not just quick wins"
Johnathon
"The ZARALEND team delivered exceptional service, focusing on our long-term financial outcomes, not just quick wins. Their breadth of knowledge across home loans, refinancing, and investment lending is outstanding."
"Start to finish, for our first investment property"
Andrew Berry
"Stephanie was great to deal with and helped us through our loan, start to finish, for our first investment property. Will definitely be using Stephanie's services again in the future."
Meet StephANIE
Owner-occupier, rentvestor, investor. Steph's done all three.
Which is probably why she won't treat an investment loan like a one-property decision. First property at nineteen, two more before twenty-five, thirteen years renting where she wanted to live and owning where the numbers worked, then the family home.
So the questions on this page, how much equity to use, what the structure does later, whether now is the moment, are ones she's answered with her own money before she ever answered them for anyone else. Which doesn't make property a good idea for everyone. If the numbers don't stack up yet, you'll hear that.
Better now than after you've fallen in love with the listing
The questions worth asking before the next property gets serious
Let's make the numbers mean something
You've built the equity. Now for the fun part: working out what it can actually do.
Twenty minutes on the phone. What you own, what you owe, what you're looking at and where you'd like this to go. If there's a way to make it work, you'll see it. If there isn't one yet, you'll hear that too.
