Call Charles Book a meeting
Mortgage Broker Leichhardt

Links Property Finance · Home loans in Leichhardt and across Sydney: Mortgage Broker in Leichhardt

Leichhardt is terrace country: narrow frontages, shared walls and a first-home choice between a terrace and a unit.

Reviewed by Charles Touma Updated 18 October 2026

$0broker fee on most loans
5.0from 32 Google reviews
70+lenders on our panel
Charles Touma, mortgage broker at Links Property Finance

Charles Touma Sydney mortgage brokerYou deal directly with Charles.

Book a free call

Which loan suits an older Leichhardt home?

An ordinary home loan from a lender whose valuers know terraces. Shared walls, narrow frontages, no parking and older services all show up in the valuation, which sets how much the lender will lend.

Read more

If you plan to renovate, a loan with redraw, or a construction facility for bigger work, keeps the funding in one place.

A house with a wide front verandah
Of Leichhardt's homes, 36.5% are houses, 33.6% terraces and semis and 29.0% apartments (ABS Census 2021).

The housing mix in Leichhardt

Terraces, semis and townhouses make up 33.6% of homes in Leichhardt, nearly three times the NSW share. Shared walls and older building fabric are where a building report earns its fee.

  • Postcode2040
  • CouncilInner West Council
  • From the Sydney CBD5 km west
29.0%

apartments NSW 21.7%

36.5%

separate houses NSW 65.6%

33.6%

terraces and semis NSW 11.7%

40.4%

rented NSW 32.6%

34.1%

with a mortgage NSW 32.5%

6,821

private dwellings

Source: ABS Census 2021, Suburbs and Localities (SAL12306).

A terrace with an iron-lace balcony

Refinancing a Leichhardt home loan: the saving

Calculate your savings

$550,000
6.40%
25
6.00%

Example rates only, not current advertised rates. Set both sliders to your own figures.

Interest at 6.40%Interest at 6.00%
You could save$40,706≈ $1,628 a year in repayments
Current repayments$3,679/month
New repayments$3,544/month

Over the remaining term, before switching costs and fees, we model those before recommending a move. Estimates only, not credit advice.

Confirm your numbers.

Charles Touma, mortgage broker at Links Property Finance

Real outcomes for real borrowers.

★★★★★
Charles at Links Property Finance made buying our first home so much easier than we expected. As first home buyers, we had a lot of questions around borrowing capacity, our deposit and the different government schemes available to us. Charles explained everything clearly, compared different lenders and kept us updated throughout the whole process. He was always easy to reach and made sure we understood what was happening from pre approval right through to getting our home loan approved. We would definitely recommend Links Property Finance to anyone looking for a mortgage broker, especially first home buyers who want someone to guide them through the process.
Michael Google review
★★★★★
Charles is an absolute star at what he does. He was straight-up, highly professional, and worked hard to secure a fantastic rate for our home loan. Communication was prompt and clear the entire way through. I would trust him with any future financial needs
Alan Google review
★★★★★
Highly recommend Charles! Professional, knowledgeable and very easy to work with. He helped us navigate the home loan process and found a great solution that suited our needs. Excellent service from start to finish.
Daniel Google review

Terraces, and everything they touch

A Federation-style house in Sydney
  • Links Property Finance serves Leichhardt within the Inner West service area, phone, video, and in person when it helps.Coverage described, as everywhere we work.
  • From Norton Street back through the side streets, the stock is Victorian and Federation terraces with a scatter of semis, freestanders and newer infill.Terraces dominate the market’s character and its lending questions alike.

A terrace is a house with asterisks

A family together in their backyard
  • Lenders class terraces as standard residential security, no strata, no levies, full Torrens title.The asterisks live in valuation: frontage width, parking or its absence, light, and the condition variance hiding behind identical façades.
  • None of it blocks lending. All of it moves numbers, which makes comparable-sale homework unusually valuable before you bid on one.

Light rail, Petersham station and Leichhardt’s terraces

Leichhardt has no railway station inside its boundaries, but the Inner West Light Rail stops at Marion and Hawthorne on the suburb’s western side, with Leichhardt North on the Lilyfield border, and runs on through Glebe and Pyrmont to Central.

The southern end of the suburb is within walking distance of Petersham station. The light rail does not alter lending policy, but it frames the valuation: a terrace near a stop is compared with nearby sales that share that access, and the same position carries into an investor’s rental appraisal.

  • Leichhardt’s stock is a genuine mix of separate houses, terraces and semis, and apartments, with no single type dominating.
  • Links checks a Leichhardt terrace against lenders such as ANZ, Westpac, Macquarie, ING and Resimac, so the application goes to one whose approach to older attached homes suits that terrace.
Read the full detail

Leichhardt’s stock is a genuine mix of separate houses, terraces and semis, and apartments, with no single type dominating.

Most terraces and semis sit on their own title with no strata, so the questions are frontage, parking, light, condition and whether past works on a shared wall were approved. The apartments bring the familiar strata and internal size checks.

Links checks a Leichhardt terrace against lenders such as ANZ, Westpac, Macquarie, ING and Resimac, so the application goes to one whose approach to older attached homes suits that terrace.

Example scenario (illustrative, not a real client): a couple who rent in Lilyfield want a single-fronted terrace near the Marion light rail stop, with no off-street parking and a rear extension whose council approval is unclear. The valuation risk sits in the parking and the extension rather than in their finances.

Before the auction, comparable sales are checked, the approval history is confirmed through their conveyancer, and lenders are compared on how they treat older works, so their bidding limit reflects what a valuer is likely to support.

Terrace houses along a tree-lined street

First home buyers in Leichhardt

Read the full detail
A row of red-brick terraces

What moves a terrace valuation?

The quirks behind identical façades.

Read the full detail

Renovating a terrace you already own

Common questions about buying in Leichhardt

Are terraces harder to finance than freestanding houses?

No, same standard residential lending, full title, no strata. The differences surface in valuation: parking, frontage, light and condition move terrace values in ways suburban houses don’t experience. Your loan approval is straightforward; your bidding ceiling deserves the comparable-sale homework.

Does being near the Marion or Hawthorne light rail stop help a Leichhardt valuation?

Not as a set premium. A valuer works from recent sales nearby, and homes close to the Marion and Hawthorne stops are usually measured against others with similar access.

Parking, frontage, light and condition still tend to move the figure more than the stop does. For an investment purchase, a rental appraisal from a local agent is what backs up the rent in the application.

Terrace or apartment for my first purchase, what do lenders prefer?

Lenders are agnostic; the policies just differ. The terrace brings no levies and no strata due diligence but a bigger price and maintenance you own alone.

The unit brings levies into serviceability and a building to vet, at a smaller entry price. We run both numbers, the preference should be yours.

Does no parking affect my loan?

Yes, through the valuation: in terrace streets parking is one of the strongest value differentiators, so a no-parking terrace values below its lane-access twin, which means slightly less lender support at the same price.

Can I use the 5% Deposit Scheme on a Leichhardt terrace?

Yes, where the price fits under the $1.5 million Sydney cap and you meet the criteria: terraces are eligible. Entry-level terraces and most units here are within range; above the cap, guarantor and larger-deposit routes take over.

What should I check before bidding on a “renovated” terrace?

What “renovated” means structurally: rewiring and replumbing age, roof and damp condition, and whether past works touching the party wall were approved. A building inspection resolves the spectrum, and its findings belong in your maximum bid, the auction hammer converts unknowns into your property.

Talk to a broker about your Leichhardt home loan

One free call covers what you could borrow in Leichhardt, the lenders that suit the property you want and the order to do things in.

Prefer a callback?

Charles Touma, mortgage broker at Links Property FinanceCharles calls back within one business day. No documents needed yet.

A family in front of the sold sign at the home they bought together
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 · MFAA register · ASIC register · Complaints processEvery page is reviewed by Charles before it is published and checked against current lender policy and the official scheme pages linked where figures appear.

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.