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Links Property Finance · Free calculator from a Sydney mortgage broker: Buying Position Calculator

Check your buying position: four inputs give an indicative borrowing range, the deposit it implies and where you stand before you start looking.

Reviewed by Charles Touma Updated 18 October 2026

Charles Touma, mortgage broker at Links Property Finance

Charles Touma Sydney mortgage brokerYou deal directly with Charles.

Buying position calculator

Six quick questions. No details needed.

$120,000
$60,000
$3,000/mo

Rent, bills, food, transport, subscriptions, everything except loan repayments.

None

Car loans, personal loans, card repayments. Skip if none. Student loans are the next question.

Do you have a HELP or other student loan debt?

No need to estimate a repayment. Compulsory HELP repayments are worked out from your income, so we do the same.

$800,000

Confirm your numbers.

What is your actual buying position?

Your buying position is the borrowing range your income supports, the deposit that range needs, and the realistic way in from where you stand today.

Read more

Enter your income, savings, living costs and target price to see all three; the result is indicative and the real figure comes from a lender assessment.

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What is this tool doing?

A family together in their backyard
  • The buying position calculator takes your household income, what you have saved, your regular living expenses and any ongoing debt commitments, and turns them into an indicative borrowing range rather than a single number.
  • A range is the right output: lenders differ from one another on almost every input, so the same household can carry materially different capacity depending on where the file goes.

Why does the number move in a real assessment?

A family on the porch of their home
  • Every lender sets its own assessment rate, living expense floor and income treatment, which is why the same household routinely receives figures hundreds of thousands apart from different institutions.Two of those levers move quickly: unused credit card limits usually count in full whether or not you draw on them, so reducing them can lift capacity without earning more, and variable income counts for more when it is evidenced properly. A compulsory HECS or HELP repayment counts as a commitment, though lenders treat it differently from one another, and clearing it uses money that is then no longer available as deposit.
  • A lender does not take your figures at face value.Income is verified and different income types are treated differently. Living expenses are floored at a benchmark if your declared figure sits below it. Existing debts are assessed on capacity to repay rather than the payment you make, and credit card limits usually count in full whether or not you use them.

What should I do with the result?

Treat the range as a shortlist filter, not a budget. It tells you which price brackets are worth looking at and which are not, which is most of the value.

The figure you can rely on comes from a full assessment against a specific lender, which is a thirty minute conversation rather than a form.

Questions about your buying position

Is this the same as pre-approval?

No. Pre-approval is a lender’s conditional decision on a verified application, with an expiry and conditions attached. This is an indicative range from unverified inputs. It is useful for working out where to look; it is not something you can put in front of an agent.

Why is the answer a range rather than one number?

Because lenders disagree. The same income, expenses and deposit can produce meaningfully different capacity at different lenders, so a single number would be false precision. The range reflects that spread.

Does a HECS or HELP debt change the result?

Yes: the compulsory repayment reduces the income available to service a loan, by an amount that depends on your income and the lender. The guide on HECS and home loans is linked below.

Will checking this affect my credit file?

No. Nothing here touches your credit file. No credit check is performed and no enquiry is recorded. A credit enquiry only happens when a formal application is submitted, with your consent.

What if the number is lower than I hoped?

That is worth knowing early, and it is usually movable. Reducing credit card limits, clearing a small personal debt or restructuring how income is presented can change capacity, sometimes substantially. The guide on increasing borrowing power sets out the levers that work.

Check the estimate with a broker

Thirty minutes with Charles: your position assessed properly against lender policy, and the pathway that fits. Free, no credit check.

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Charles Touma, mortgage broker at Links Property Finance
Reviewed by Charles Touma Director & Mortgage Broker · MFAA member · Credit Representative 579003 under ACL 389328 About Charles · All calculators

Estimates only, not credit or financial advice. This tool uses general assumptions and cannot see your credit file, verify your income or apply any particular lender's policy. Your position is confirmed in a full assessment.

Official sources for the figures on this page: Revenue NSW, First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme. Scheme rules change; the official pages are the final word. Checked against these sources on 12 October 2026.