Many Sydney owners have built serious equity. It can fund the next purchase without selling anything.
Release it as a separate loan split secured against your home, up to about 80 per cent of its value less what you owe, and use that as the deposit and costs. The new purchase then gets its own standalone loan.
Keeping the two loans separate, rather than cross-collateralised, keeps each property free to be sold or refinanced on its own.
Part of the investment property loans guide.
From a real Links file: a 5% Deposit Scheme home turned into an investment, with about $40,000 of equity released for the next purchase.
Yours could be the next one.
A quick call and you will know your next step.
Book my free callHow much equity could you use?
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 and the team recently assisted us with a refinance of our investment property. Recommend Charles and the team to all
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
I found Charles and Links Property Finance very prompt and professional to deal with. Made it all so easy.
Charles Touma, Mortgage Broker.
The classic move: equity from the home becomes the deposit on an investment property, rent helps carry the new loan, and the investment stands on its own security. The equity questions come first, and they are this page.
Lenders count rent at a discount, commonly around 80%, and price investment lending above owner-occupier; the structure and the numbers are covered on our investment loans page.
Equity can help children buy in two quite different ways: released as cash for a documented gift, or pledged, without cash moving, through a family guarantee. The gift spends your equity; the guarantee lends your security temporarily.
Which suits depends on your own plans for the equity, and the two pages linked cover both sides properly.
Borrowing against your home to buy more property concentrates your position in one asset class, secured by the roof over your head. If the investment underperforms, vacancy, rate rises, a soft resale, the debt against your home remains.
Tax settings for investors also change from 1 July 2027; see the capital gains tax changes. Interest-only periods flatter early cash flow and then step up.
None of this argues against the strategy; all of it argues for careful stress-testing before you sign, which is precisely what we model: rates higher, property vacant, plans changed. Land tax is a holding cost that is easy to leave out; the NSW land tax calculator estimates it.
Long-held homes in suburbs like Drummoyne, Cabarita and Haberfield carry exactly this kind of stored value, those pages cover the local versions of the equity conversation, including release for renovations rather than purchases.
Home equity is the part of your property you own outright: its current value less what you still owe. A $1,000,000 home with a $600,000 loan has $400,000 of equity.
Lenders let you borrow against part of it, usually up to 80 per cent of the value less the debt, which is called usable equity, so that home has about $200,000 to work with.
As a rule of thumb: 80% of your home's lender-assessed value, minus your current loan, without paying lenders mortgage insurance. Going above 80% is sometimes possible with insurance, at a cost that rarely suits equity-release purposes.
The binding constraint is usually serviceability: the lender must be satisfied your income supports the enlarged borrowing at a buffered rate.
Occasionally: it can squeeze slightly more lending from a tight position, and some borrowers value single-lender simplicity. The price is flexibility, because selling, moving lenders or restructuring later all become entangled.
Our default is standalone structures unless there is a specific reason otherwise, and we will name the reason if we recommend one.
No: releasing equity is borrowing, not income, so the release itself is not taxed. What matters is the purpose of each borrowed dollar, so keep the borrowings separate and bring your accountant in before settlement.
Yes, that is the standard mechanics of the strategy: released equity provides the deposit and purchase costs, and the new property's own loan covers the balance.
No cash savings are required if the equity and the serviceability both stack up, though a cash buffer for the new property's surprises remains as wise as ever.
Often, yes, the equity release application is a natural moment to re-shop your existing rate (see a top-up versus a refinance), since you are going through assessment anyway.
Sometimes your current lender repricing plus a release is the cleanest path; sometimes a full refinance to a sharper lender funds the release and cuts the rate in one move. We price both.
If the equity is heading towards an investment property, our investment loan FAQ picks up the questions that usually come next.
Thirty minutes with Charles: your usable equity, the structure that keeps your options open, and the stress test before anything is signed.
Prefer a callback?Charles calls back within one business day. No documents needed yet.
General information only, not credit, tax or financial advice. Equity access depends on lender valuation and serviceability assessment; tax treatment of borrowed funds depends on their use and your circumstances, seek advice from your accountant. Your full situation is assessed before any recommendation.
