Bespoke Capital Australia

Bespoke Capital Australia Bespoke Capital Australia is passionate about providing tailored mortgage and loan advice that helps you grow your wealth and achieve your financial goals.

Discover how we can help you unlock the full potential of your financial future, accelerate your wealth, and achieve your goals faster than you ever thought possible. Our experienced team specialises in solutions to assist busy professionals in developing and building wealth, sooner. With personalised strategic advice around your mortgages, loans and cash flow, let us help you realise your dreams and unlock the full potential of your financial future.

12/04/2026

Using redraw on your investment loan for personal expenses can permanently contaminate your tax deductions and trigger costly ATO attention.

When you redraw funds from an investment loan for personal use, the ATO treats that portion of your debt as personal rather than investment related, which means you lose the ability to claim interest deductions on those funds. This contamination is permanent and can significantly impact your tax position for the life of the loan.

Here's how this typically unfolds: you have a $400,000 investment loan that you've paid down to $350,000, leaving $50,000 available in redraw. You withdraw $20,000 to renovate your family home or purchase a car. From that moment, the ATO considers $20,000 of your total loan balance as personal debt, meaning you can only claim interest deductions on $380,000 instead of the full $400,000.

Many investors continue claiming deductions on the entire balance without realising this rule exists, which can result in hefty penalties during an audit. The ATO's data matching systems can easily track bank transactions and identify when redraw funds flow to non-investment purposes, making this a high-risk mistake.

The solution is straightforward but requires discipline. Keep your investment loan completely separate from personal expenses by using your home loan redraw or a dedicated personal loan instead. Once an investment loan becomes contaminated, it's extremely difficult and expensive to reverse, making prevention far better than attempting to fix the problem later.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

08/04/2026

Most lenders will count the full debt from a joint investment loan against your borrowing capacity, even when you only own half the property.

When you and a family member purchase an investment property together, many banks automatically assume you're personally liable for the entire amount when assessing future applications. This can completely destroy your ability to qualify for your own home loan, even though you're only responsible for half the repayments and own half the property.

The situation becomes even more frustrating when you consider the income side of the equation. Some lenders may only count half the rental income towards your serviceability calculations while still holding you liable for the full debt amount. This creates a worst-case scenario where you're penalised with maximum debt exposure but receive minimal income benefit.

However, there are specific lenders who understand joint borrowing arrangements and have policies that allocate debt proportionally between borrowers. These lenders may assess you on just your share of the debt, which in this example could mean $300,000 instead of $600,000 counted against your borrowing capacity.

The challenge is that most borrowers don't know these policies exist and end up applying with lenders who use the harshest assessment methods. Working with a broker who understands debt allocation policies can potentially make the difference between loan approval and rejection when you're ready to purchase your own property.



Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.

06/04/2026

Most property investors with private rental agreements assume a signed lease is all the bank needs to see.

When rental income isn't managed through a property manager, lenders generally view it as higher risk and may require additional verification before counting it towards your borrowing capacity. In many cases, banks will ask for three months of consistent rent payments reflected in your bank statements before they'll include that income in serviceability calculations. But here's what often catches investors off guard: the way your tenant labels those transfers matters. If the payment reference simply shows a name or no description at all, the bank can struggle to verify it as rental income, which could potentially delay your application or mean that income isn't counted.

Your tenant should include clear wording like "rent payment" in the transfer description so the bank can quickly identify the source and purpose of those funds. This becomes particularly important when you're looking to upgrade or purchase your next property, as verified rental income from existing investments can significantly strengthen your borrowing capacity. While an unclear payment reference won't necessarily derail your application, proper labelling can streamline the assessment process and may help you access higher loan amounts depending on your overall financial position. If you're investing through private arrangements, speak with your broker about how to structure your rental documentation for smoother loan approvals.



**Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.**

04/04/2026

Major lenders have shifted their stance on Airbnb income, and property investors with short-term rental income could now unlock significantly more borrowing capacity than they had access to just months ago.

Previously, most lenders required two full years of tax returns to assess Airbnb income, which often penalised newer hosts or those with a weaker first year of trading. Some lenders now accept just 12 months of solid booking history, and in many cases, they may assess up to 90% of that income towards your borrowing capacity. This represents a substantial shift in how short-term rental income can be treated by the lending market.

To put this in perspective, if your Airbnb property generated $80,000 over the most recent 12 months, using the right lender could potentially increase your borrowing power by around $300,000 compared to a policy that averaged two years of inconsistent returns. The key is demonstrating strong occupancy rates and consistent bookings over that 12-month period, as lenders typically want evidence that this income stream is reliable and not sporadic.

This change matters because Airbnb income has historically been either ignored or heavily discounted by lenders. As short-term rentals become more mainstream and data becomes more reliable, some lenders are finally recognising that a well-managed Airbnb can potentially deliver stronger returns than traditional long-term rentals.

If you hold Airbnb properties and have been considering your next purchase or upgrade, it may be worth reassessing your borrowing capacity with a broker who understands these updated policies.



**Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.**

02/04/2026

Not a bad shack...



**Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.**

31/03/2026

If you're self-employed and eyeing an investment property, the deposit requirements are higher than you might think.

For an investment loan, lenders typically require a minimum 10% deposit, but once you factor in stamp duty and legal fees, you're realistically looking at 12 to 15% of the purchase price upfront. That's notably higher than an owner-occupier loan, where you can enter with as little as 5% plus costs, totalling around 7 to 10%. The gap widens further when you're self-employed and putting down less than 20%.

Here's why that matters. If your deposit is under 20%, you'll trigger Lender's Mortgage Insurance, and most lenders will require two full years of financials before they'll assess your application. For business owners with a strong recent year but a weaker prior year, this can potentially delay or complicate approval. Fortunately, a small number of lenders may consider applications with just one year of financials in LMI territory, making lender selection critical when your deposit sits below 20%, whether for investment or owner-occupier purposes.

Working with a broker who understands self-employed lending can help you navigate these requirements and identify lenders suited to your deposit level and financial profile.



**Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.**

29/03/2026

Neighbour objections could potentially derail your DA before it's even approved.

When you lodge a development application for something like a dual occupancy or granny flat, many councils are legally required to notify surrounding properties, typically within a 14 to 28 day window depending on your state. During that period, adjoining or nearby owners can submit formal objections on grounds like overshadowing, loss of privacy, neighbourhood character, or stormwater run-off. If council receives multiple formal objections, the assessment officer may require design changes such as reduced building height, relocated windows, or additional screening before approval can be granted. Those modifications don't just add cost, they can add months to the timeline, and in some cases they might make the entire project unviable. If objections are sustained and you decide to appeal through the Land and Environment Court, legal costs could easily exceed $40,000, with no guarantee of success.

Most successful property investors address this risk before lodging. Walk next door with your plans, show the design, ask what concerns they have, and address those issues upfront. If you can secure informal support or at least neutralise potential objections before the notification period starts, you may remove one of the biggest risks in the entire approval process. Speak with your mortgage broker about how DA timelines and project costs can impact your borrowing capacity and investment strategy.



**Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.**

27/03/2026

Let's take a look at the crazy mortgage repayments you'd need to cough up to live in this mansion near the Gold Coast!



**Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.**

25/03/2026

Failing to update your insurance after adding a granny flat could void your entire policy.

When your insurer originally underwrote your home policy, they assessed the risk based on a single residential dwelling with one household. The premium you pay reflects that specific setup. The moment you add a granny flat and rent it out, you've changed the property from single occupancy to dual occupancy, which represents a material change to the risk profile. If something happens and you need to make a claim, the insurer may review the policy and determine the coverage no longer aligns with the property's current use. In some cases, they could potentially deny the claim or void the policy entirely, which means you might lose coverage on both the granny flat and the main house. Before you start building, contact your insurer and inform them of your plans. They can adjust your policy or recommend a product that covers dual occupancy appropriately. Your premium may increase slightly, but that cost is minimal compared to the financial exposure of having no coverage when you need it most. For guidance on structuring your granny flat finance and protecting your investment properly, speak with a licensed mortgage broker who understands investment property scenarios.



**Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.**

23/03/2026

One expense catches most new property investors completely off guard, and by the time they notice it, their cashflow is already taking a serious hit.

That expense is land tax. It's a state-based tax calculated on the total unimproved value of all investment land you own, and it typically kicks in once you cross a threshold, which can range anywhere from $50,000 to over $1 million depending on the state. The real issue is that land tax scales progressively, meaning the more properties you acquire, the larger the bill becomes. Many investors don't factor this in until they're already holding multiple properties, and suddenly they're facing thousands in annual tax they never budgeted for.

There are ways to manage this exposure. Some states, like Tasmania and South Australia, have higher thresholds or lower rates, which can be more forgiving as you build a portfolio. Another strategy is to diversify your holdings across multiple states, as land tax is calculated per state, not nationally. In some cases, owning one property in each of several states could result in a lower overall tax bill than concentrating multiple properties in one location, particularly in areas with stricter thresholds.

The key is to plan for land tax before it becomes an issue, not after you've already crossed the threshold. It's not a cost you deal with later, it's a factor that should influence your buying strategy from day one.

If you're building or considering an investment portfolio, speak with your mortgage broker about structuring your purchases in a way that accounts for long-term tax efficiency.



**Content is general information only and not personalised credit advice. Loan eligibility, rates, repayments, fees and lender policies vary and can change. Speak with a licensed broker for advice tailored to your situation.**

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