Federation houses and apartment buildings share the few streets of Burwood Heights, so a move from one to the other need not mean leaving the suburb.
Often, yes, if your income supports both loans. The unit becomes an investment with its own loan, the house gets a separate loan, and the unit’s equity can help with the deposit without tying the two properties together.
Lenders count most of the unit’s rent, around 80 per cent, against the new borrowing.
At 429 homes, Burwood Heights is one of the smaller suburbs nearby, which can make a valuation the slowest part of the loan.
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 (SAL10717).
Home equity calculator
For upgraders and investors, how much of your home could work as a deposit.
That usable equity could work as a deposit on an investment property or renovation, structured so your properties aren’t tied together unnecessarily.
Usable equity assumes lending to 80% of your home’s value against your current loan. Lender policy and serviceability decide the real figure.
Confirm your numbers.
Charles Touma from Links Property Finance was a great help with buying my first home. I had plenty of questions and he took the time to explain things clearly without making me feel rushed. He kept me updated throughout and made the process much less stressful. Really appreciated his patience and would happily recommend him to other first home buyers.
Charles went above and beyond to help us secure our home loan. He worked hard to find the best option for us and kept us updated throughout the whole process. His knowledge of the lending market was impressive and he made everything straightforward.
Had a really good experience with Charles at Links Property Finance. He was easy to deal with, always quick to respond and kept everything simple and clear throughout the whole process. You can tell he genuinely cares about getting the best outcome for his clients rather than just getting things done quickly. Really happy with the experience and would happily recommend Charles and Links Property Finance to anyone.
Moving out does not change the unit loan by itself, but it changes what the loan is for.
Lenders generally expect to hear when a home becomes a rental, and the pricing or product can change as a result, so raise it before the tenant signs rather than after the first rent arrives.
The house loan should normally stand on its own, secured by the house, while the unit loan stays in its own account against the unit.
Whether any equity in the unit is drawn for the house deposit is a decision to make once, carefully, with your accountant involved, because unpicking a tangled structure later costs time and fees. How releasing equity works
Charles Touma, Mortgage Broker. The same person on your file from start to finish.
Burwood Heights has no railway station inside its boundaries. Buses on Liverpool Road, the northern edge, stop beside the suburb and run towards Ashfield station one way and Strathfield station the other, and services on Burwood Road, the western edge, head north to Burwood station.
Tenants may weigh that bus access, but an investment application still rests on rent evidence for the unit itself.
A valuer looks at the land, the state of the house, the original detail that survives and recent sales of comparable older houses. The figure is based on the house as it stands on inspection day.
Plans you have not yet had approved add nothing to it, however good they are.
Order matters here. Speak to your accountant while you still live in the unit, set up any offset account before savings build up, and hold off redrawing from the unit loan for the house until that advice is in hand.
If equity in the unit goes towards the house deposit, it is usually set up as a separate split, so the statements show plainly what that money paid for. Your accountant can confirm how it should be treated. Offset accounts explained.
Apartments in Burwood Heights are spread across separate buildings, including some on Burwood Road and Liverpool Road, and each building has its own records and upkeep history, so a first buyer should not assume two units here carry the same risk.
The strata records show the balance of the sinking fund, now called the capital works fund in NSW, any special levies voted or flagged in the minutes, and repairs the owners corporation is planning.
One. A first call. Bring the unit loan details, a rough idea of the rent and the sort of house you want. You finish knowing whether keeping the unit looks workable and roughly what the house deposit needs to be.
What to have in hand before an offer on a house here, particularly when a unit is being kept.
Charles Touma is glad to talk any of these through with you on a call.
Often, if your income can carry both loans once the lender has counted part of the rent and applied its buffer. The deposit for the house can come from savings, from equity in the unit, or both.
The earlier the structure is agreed with your accountant, the easier it is to keep each loan tied to one purpose and one property.
Usually not for a straightforward purchase: Burwood Council’s Badminton Road to Culdees Road Conservation Area governs what can be changed on the property, not whether a lender accepts it as security.
It matters when the plan includes building work, because construction funds generally need approved plans. Check with council what applies to the particular house before you set a renovation budget.
They add a reduced share of the expected rent to your income, leaving room for vacancies and costs, and they count the unit loan repayments and strata levies against you.
Before a tenant is in, an agent’s written rental appraisal is the usual evidence. Afterwards, the lease and rent statements do the job. The exact share counted differs from lender to lender.
Not before asking your accountant: extra repayments reduce the debt left on the unit once it becomes a rental.
Many owners in this position hold spare cash in an offset account instead, which lowers the interest charged without lowering the balance. Your accountant can say which approach suits your circumstances.
An offset is a separate transaction account linked to the loan, and its balance is set against the loan when interest is worked out, while the loan balance stays the same.
Redraw lets you take back extra repayments you have already made, which means the loan balance went down and then goes back up. Not every loan offers both, and fees vary.
It can, provided the unit is worth enough more than its loan and your income supports the extra borrowing.
The equity is usually released as a separate split secured by the unit, which keeps a clear record of what it paid for. Usable equity is normally worked out against a percentage of the unit’s value, not the whole of it.
Thirty minutes with Charles: what you could borrow, which lenders suit Burwood Heights property and what to do next. Free, with no credit check.
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.
