Links Property Finance · Worked example from a Sydney mortgage broker: Financing a Studio Under 50sqm

Three things decide the file: the internal area on the strata plan, which lenders accept that size in that location, and the conditions they attach, usually a larger deposit. Her strong deposit is suddenly the most valuable feature of the file.

Three measurements decide the file: what the strata plan says the internal area is (balconies and car spaces usually excluded, and marketing floor plans routinely differ from the registered plan), which lenders accept that number in that location, and what conditions they attach, typically a lower maximum loan-to-value ratio, meaning more deposit.

The registered strata plan, not the agent's brochure, the assessment stands on the legal number. The building itself: lenders that flex on size still care about the block's health, so the strata records matter.

The lender shortlist for 42sqm near a transport hub in the Inner West. And the loan-to-value mathematics: at 80% lending, her deposit covers the gap comfortably, which is exactly why the file works.

Small-apartment lending is a security question, and conditions are the currency: expect lower maximum LVRs, closer attention to the building, and occasionally a valuation that comes back conservative. The strategy is to let the deposit absorb the conditions rather than fighting them.

What deserves genuine caution: very small studios in investor-heavy new towers, where size rules, valuation risk and off-the-plan dynamics stack on top of each other.

If a bank declines your apartment on size, you have learned about one policy, nothing more. Get the registered internal area before you fall in love, it is the single number that determines the lender field.

And read the strata report as carefully as the loan documents: on small apartments, the building is half the application.