Property Investment Podcast Network

Brokers know things banks would rather keep quiet. In the debut episode of Which Mortgage, the Finni team starts with one of them: how a 25-year-old on a $100,000 income can buy an investment property without saving a deposit.

This isn't another investment property podcast. In the very first episode of Which Mortgage, host Alex Whitlock is joined by Eva Loisance and Costa Arvanitopoulos from Finni to pull back the curtain on the finance tactics brokers know and lenders would rather keep quiet.

The trio dive into a real client scenario: a 25-year-old on a $100,000 income with just $20,000 saved, priced out of the market and looking at a Melbourne investment unit. The solution was a family pledge, using her parents' property as security, which can cover up to 105 per cent of the purchase price, costs included, without the parents handing over a cent in cash.

But there was a twist: a desktop valuation on the parents' home came back about a million dollars short of a full valuation. Loisance explains why accepting a bank's first number can be a costly mistake.

They also unpack how the buffer rates of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) affect borrowing power and share their lenders of the week, including a non-bank offering 40-year loan terms, a newcomer with no lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) up to 85 per cent, and a major bank that gets sharper on pricing at $2 million. Plus, each week, the question every borrower should ask: What don't lenders want you to know?

NSW collected 23 per cent less residential stamp duty in September than a year earlier, and Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman say it's only the start. But when the conversation turns to mortgage brokers, the hosts stop agreeing.
On this live episode of Property Buzz, Phil Tarrant and Liam Garman dig into the numbers behind a sharp fall in NSW residential stamp duty: $663.7 million collected in September, down from $864.3 million a year earlier. Extrapolated across the country, they put the potential loss at $7.36 billion, a figure that sits inside the $6 billion to $8 billion range they've been predicting for months.
The pair also unpack the NSW Labor pledge to let investors restructure trusts hit by the new discretionary trust tax without triggering stamp duty, and Victoria's promise to return its property tax threshold to $50,000.
Then there's the data. Brisbane listings are up 40 per cent on last year with a clearance rate of just 20 per cent, unemployment has ticked up to 4.7 per cent, and part-time jobs have dropped by 74,000. Tarrant shares what buyer's agents and brokers are telling him on the street, from tactical finance to banks loosening up, and explains why he says now is the time to have a good broker in your corner.
And then it gets heated. Tarrant takes aim at a looming levy hike on brokers while Garman plays devil's advocate – arguing consumer protection is a fair reason for scrutiny. Who wins the argument? You'll have to listen.

Investors waiting for the market to turn could miss a buying window, as cash flow, rental yields, and changing financial conditions reshape the cost of holding an investment property.
On The Smart Property Investment Show, Liam Garman speaks with Arjun Paliwal of InvestorKit about the cash flow pressures holding investors back and the financial shifts that could make negatively geared properties more manageable.
Using a $700,000 property as an example, Paliwal estimates an initial shortfall of $2,400 to $2,800 a month, but says lower interest rates, rent increases, a cash deposit, and potential tax changes could reduce the outlay to about $600 a month, ultimately saving more than $30,000 a year.
The pair also examine the psychology keeping buyers on the sidelines, the impact of lower purchase prices on rental yields, and the importance of assessing buffers, borrowing capacity, and diversification before committing to an investment.
With listings tightening and many buyers waiting for a clear market signal, Paliwal discusses how seasonal patterns, political changes, and shifting sentiment could shape the next buying window.

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From warehouses to medical centres and service stations, not every commercial asset is as safe as it looks. Victor Kumar says three simple tests can separate a smart buy from a costly mistake.
A long lease looks like security, but when the tenant walks out, you may be struggling to find a replacement.
In Part 2 of the Post-Budget Guide to Commercial Property Investing, Phil Tarrant sits down with Victor Kumar, founder and director of Right Property Group, to unpack the hidden risks in "safe" commercial assets, and how to compare very different commercial asset classes.
Victor says every asset should pass three tests: how easily it can be re-leased if the tenant leaves, whether the building will still do its job in 15 years, and who pays when major repairs hit. He explains why industrial assets such as warehouses tend to score well on the first test, while specialised assets like childcare centres and fast-food sites can take longer to re-let.
From there, the pair break down office, industrial and retail, including why the rent on paper isn't always the same as rent in practice and rate re-leasability risk across sectors, from storage to service stations and childcare.
Finally, Victor outlines the sectors he believes face structural pressure post-budget, including CBD offices, childcare and NDIS-related buildings, and why he says residential is "all about sentiment" while commercial is "all about mathematics".

Lenders are counting more rental income and expanding high-LVR options, potentially giving investors more buying power just as spring activity picks up.
On The Property Nerds podcast, Arjun Paliwal and Jack Fouracre discuss lending changes that could improve investor borrowing capacity and create new opportunities in the spring market.
Fouracre explains how some lenders are reducing rental income shading and expanding access to 95 per cent loan-to-value ratios, while Paliwal outlines how the changes could help investors stretch their capital across more purchases.
The pair also examine how borrowing power has recovered from post-budget restrictions, alongside options for refinancing and potentially recovering part of lenders mortgage insurance costs as equity builds.
With investor enquiries rising in September, Paliwal and Fouracre discuss the role of seasonality, market sentiment, and cash buffers in buying decisions, while weighing the possibility of further rate cuts against the risks of taking on too much debt.