Six in ten Erskineville homes are apartments and a third are semis or terraces, and more than half of all homes are rented.
The lender adds both incomes and both sets of debts, and each of you is checked for first home buyer eligibility. You choose joint tenants, where each owns the whole, or tenants in common with set shares.
If either has owned before, some schemes may not apply to the purchase.
With 61.7% of dwellings in apartment buildings, strata is a big part of buying in Erskineville. Ask for the strata report early on any unit here: special levies and disputes change the loan conversation more than the rate does. 34.5% of dwellings here are attached houses, the terrace and semi stock that defines these streets.
Older terraces can carry renovation upside that a lender values only once the work is done, which is a timing question. Renters are the majority in Erskineville, at 53.3%. In buildings with a high share of tenants, some lenders look at the owner-occupier ratio before they approve.
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 (SAL11442).
Will the rent cover it?
The first question every Sydney investor asks, repayments against rental income, the way a lender sees it.
A gap isn’t a dealbreaker, negative gearing, interest-only periods and offset structure change the cash-flow picture. That’s the conversation.
Estimates only, rates, vacancy, costs and tax change the real picture. Not credit or tax advice.
Confirm your numbers.
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A joint application combines both incomes, which usually lifts borrowing power, but it also combines both sets of debts and expenses.
Each of you is responsible for the whole loan, not just half, so the lender assesses you together and either of you can be asked to repay it in full.
How you own the property is a separate choice from the loan. Joint tenants own it together in equal shares, and if one dies the other automatically owns it all.
Tenants in common own set shares, which can be unequal, and each share passes under that person’s will. Your conveyancer or solicitor can explain which suits you. Buying with a partner in detail
Charles Touma, Mortgage Broker.
Erskineville lies about six kilometres south-west of the city in the City of Sydney, bordered by Newtown to the west, Redfern to the north, St Peters to the south and Alexandria to the east.
Erskineville Road runs through its centre, and Erskineville Oval sits on its eastern edge. The suburb was originally called Macdonaldtown, after an 1846 subdivision owned by Stephen Macdonald.
As joint tenants, you own the whole property together in equal shares, and if one of you dies the other automatically becomes the sole owner, regardless of any will.
As tenants in common, you each own a defined share, such as sixty and forty, which can reflect unequal contributions, and each share passes under your own will.
The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme can be used by eligible couples buying together, provided both meet its criteria. The New South Wales first home buyer duty concessions have their own rules, and for couples, both buyers usually need to qualify.
If one partner has owned property before, the options can change, so check the current rules for both of you before relying on either. First home buyer schemes in NSW.
If one of you expects to take parental leave, study or change careers soon after buying, the lender needs to know, and a responsible application plans for it. Borrowing on two full incomes and then losing one for a year can leave the repayments uncomfortable.
Some couples buy a little below their maximum, or build a buffer in an offset account, to cover a period on one income. Being open about the plan usually makes the application stronger, not weaker. Parental leave and borrowing.
Three ways people buying together structure ownership, and what each means.
The conversations to have before you both sign.
Yes. A joint application combines both incomes, which usually increases borrowing power. It also combines both sets of debts and expenses, and each of you is responsible for the whole loan, because the lender assesses you together as one household.
It depends on your relationship and contributions. Joint tenants own the property equally and it passes automatically to the survivor. Tenants in common own set shares, which can be unequal, and each share passes under the owner’s will. The loan itself is usually the same either way.
Yes, if you both meet the criteria and the price is within the area’s cap. If one of you has owned property before, eligibility can change, so check the rules for both of you.
That is common. You can record unequal contributions by owning the property as tenants in common in unequal shares, or with a written agreement between you.
The lender is concerned with the total deposit and the loan rather than how you split it, but the split matters to you if circumstances change.
On a joint application, yes. Every card limit, loan and HECS or HELP balance of each applicant counts in the assessment, so clearing or reducing small debts before applying can help both of you.
It is unusual, and lender policy varies. Generally anyone on the title is on the loan, and anyone whose income is counted is a borrower. If only one of you will own the property, usually only that person’s income is assessed.
One free call covers what you could borrow in Erskineville, the lenders that suit the property you want and the order to do things in.
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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.
