Gladesville runs from low-rise unit blocks along Victoria Road to established homes in the streets behind, with a mix of older and newer stock through it.
Whether the unit’s internal floor area clears the lender’s minimum, and whether the building’s sinking fund is healthy. Many Gladesville blocks along Victoria Road date from the sixties and seventies, so the strata record and any planned works matter.
Houses in the streets behind are valued on land and condition instead.
Just under half of the homes in Gladesville are apartments, about twice the share across NSW. Some lenders cap how much they lend into one large complex, so a unit can be easy at one bank and full at another.
Separate housesTownhouses and semisApartments
apartments NSW 21.7%
separate houses NSW 65.6%
terraces and semis NSW 11.7%
rented NSW 32.6%
with a mortgage NSW 32.5%
private dwellings
Source: ABS Census 2021, Suburbs and Localities (SAL11642).
NSW first home buyer stamp duty
Assumes an eligible NSW first home buyer purchasing an existing home under the First Home Buyers Assistance Scheme (exempt to $800k, concession to $1m). Indicative only, check Revenue NSW for your exact position.
Confirm your numbers.
Had a great experience with Charles at Links Property Finance. He made the whole home loan process straightforward and easy to understand, kept me updated throughout and was always quick to answer any questions.
Had a great experience with Charles. He made the home loan process straightforward, was always easy to communicate with, and really knew his stuff. Would definitely recommend Charles and the team!
Charles and the team recently assisted me with the refinance of my investment property.
Long-held houses here often carry substantial equity against a loan that has barely moved, which is the classic case for a reprice or a release.
On the unit side the question is whether the block's condition has affected value, since a building with known defects can value under expectation regardless of how the individual unit presents.
A review makes sense when a fixed term is nearly over, when your variable rate has crept above the lender’s current offers, or when your loan has no offset. Often the cheapest fix is a repricing request rather than a new lender.
Yes, standard investment lending applies: older units let steadily and cost little to maintain until the building needs work, when a special levy can change the yield materially.
Lenders look at the strata report for exactly that reason. The rent is discounted as always, and the level of that discount differs enough between lenders to change whether a purchase services.
Interest-only suits some investors and not others. It keeps repayments low for a set period, then the loan converts and repayments rise. Whether it makes sense depends on your other debts, your plans for the property and your tax position.
Charles Touma, Mortgage Broker.
With no railway station, Gladesville relies on Victoria Road, where buses run through the suburb towards the city, Ryde and Parramatta, and on the Parramatta River ferry from the wharf at neighbouring Huntleys Point. Each building still needs checking on size and strata.
A unit within a short walk of the Victoria Road bus stops and the shops around Cowell Street tends to let readily, which makes an investor’s rental appraisal easier to support, and the number of similar older blocks nearby gives a valuer comparable sales to work from.
An apartment loan has two approvals in it: one for you and one for the property.
The unit blocks along Victoria Road are largely from the sixties and seventies, and that era is where internal floor area becomes the deciding question. Many two-bedroom units from that period measure close to the threshold lenders care about once balconies are excluded.
The other recurring issue is the sinking fund: an ageing block with a thin fund is a future special levy, and a lender reads it the same way a buyer should. The freestanding homes behind are a conventional purchase where condition and land carry the weight.
Exposure limits are the quiet rule in apartment lending: a cap on loans per complex, or a lower maximum lending ratio in high-density postcodes. They differ between lenders and change during the year, so check the specific building early.
Not the loan itself, but it affects the paperwork around it. Part of Gladesville falls within the City of Ryde and part within Hunter’s Hill, so the planning certificate, heritage controls and renovation approvals come from whichever council covers your street.
Yes, for eligible first home buyers within the cap. Gladesville’s older unit blocks often fall inside it, which is why internal size and the sinking fund matter so much here.
Many lenders want around 50 square metres of living area. Some older one-bedroom units fall below it, which narrows the lender list or lowers the maximum loan.
Yes. Blocks of that age often need roof, concrete or plumbing work, and the sinking fund shows whether it has been planned for.
It can. Valuers weigh traffic noise and outlook, so a unit on the main road may value below a similar one a street back.
One free call covers what you could borrow in Gladesville, the lenders that suit the property you want and the order to do things in.
Prefer a callback?Charles calls back within one business day. No documents needed yet.
General information only, not credit or financial advice. Lender policies and government scheme criteria differ and change over time. All lending is subject to individual assessment and approval.
