Borrowing Power Calculator
Most people start with the wrong question. They ask what a property costs. The question that actually decides the deal is how much a lender will lend you against it. This calculator gives you a fast, honest estimate so you walk into the next conversation knowing roughly where you stand.
A quick scope note first. Windsor Finance is a finance broker, not a bank. We arrange investment, SMSF, commercial and specialist property finance through a panel of Australian bank and non-bank lenders. We do not arrange standard owner-occupier home loans for the place you live in. This tool is built for investors, SMSF trustees, business owners and developers working out their capacity for a property purchase or refinance.
What this calculator estimates
The tool produces an indicative borrowing range, not an approval. It takes your income, your existing commitments, the loan purpose and the rough deposit or equity you hold, then applies a serviceability test similar to the one lenders run. The output is a ballpark figure for how much you could borrow and what the repayments might look like.
Treat the number as a starting point. A lender confirms your real capacity on application, after it sees your full financial position and the security property. Two borrowers with identical income often get very different answers, because lenders weigh existing debt, income type and property type in different ways.
Indicative only
- This produces a range, not a credit decision.
- The lender confirms your real capacity on application.
- Windsor Finance is a broker, not a lender. Figures are placeholders.*
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Pick the path that matches your deal
Enter four things: your gross income, your regular financial commitments, the deposit or equity you can put toward the purchase, and the type of property finance you need. One qualifying question routes you to the right path, because the rules change sharply depending on the deal.
Lenders assess rental income plus your other income against a serviceability buffer, and investor policy is tighter than owner-occupier policy.
Borrowing sits inside a Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement (LRBA), assessed largely on the fund's contributions and rental income, with conservative LVR caps.
Capacity is driven by the business's trading position or the commercial rent, not a standard personal income test.
The estimate adjusts to reflect how that lender pool actually thinks.
Borrowing power moves on more than salary
The factors that shift the number most:
Income type and consistency
PAYG income is read at close to face value. Self-employed and business income is read more cautiously, and lenders often want two years of returns. If your income is real but lumpy, low-doc and alt-doc lending verifies it through BAS, business bank statements or an accountant's letter instead. That can change your capacity considerably.
Existing debt and commitments
Every loan, card limit and lease reduces serviceability. A $20,000 credit card limit counts against you even if the balance is zero, because the lender assumes you could draw it.
The serviceability buffer
Lenders do not test you at the actual rate. They add a buffer, commonly around 3 percentage points above the loan rate, to check you could still pay if rates rose. Investor buffers are tighter again. This single rule is why people borrow less than they expect.
Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR)
Your deposit or equity sets the LVR. Standard residential investment lending reaches up to around 80% LVR, with lenders mortgage insurance above that line. SMSF residential typically caps near 70%, commercial near 65% to 75%. A larger deposit lifts both your borrowing power and your lender choice.
Property and structure
A standard apartment in a capital city is read differently to a rural block, a specialised commercial asset, or a property held in a trust or SMSF. Structure affects both the lender pool and the leverage on offer.
The same deal, two different answers
Run your numbers through your own bank's calculator and you get one answer, shaped by one set of credit rules. That bank might cap your LVR, apply its own income shading, or simply decline a property type it does not like.
A broker checks the market. The same deal that one bank reads as marginal, a non-bank or specialist lender may read as straightforward. Across the panel, serviceability buffers, income treatment and LVR appetites vary, which is exactly why two lenders can be tens of thousands of dollars apart on the same borrower. We package the file once and place it with the lender most likely to say yes, first time, so you avoid the costly cycle of decline and re-shop.
A few AU-specific rules drive these numbers
- Serviceability buffers are set by lender policy and influenced by APRA guidance. They are the main reason your assessed capacity sits below what the headline repayment suggests.
- SMSF borrowing runs through an LRBA, where the lender's recourse is limited to the single asset held in a bare trust. The fund borrows to acquire one acquirable asset, and capacity is assessed conservatively. Windsor arranges SMSF finance. We do not give superannuation, tax or financial advice. Trustees must get independent advice from a licensed adviser and an SMSF specialist before proceeding.
- Investment and business-purpose lending is generally not regulated under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act. This tool is built for that audience, not for consumer home loans.
- Rates, fees and LVR figures quoted here and in the result are indicative only. The lender confirms the final position on application.
The number on screen is useful for planning
It is not a credit decision, and it cannot see the things that often unlock a better outcome: a non-bank lender with a different buffer, a low-doc route for self-employed income, or a structure that lifts your leverage.
That is the work a broker does. We take your real position to a panel of bank and non-bank lenders, return one or more indicative structures inside 24 to 48 hours, and tell you honestly what is realistic before you commit a dollar. Structuring and lender shortlisting cost you nothing.
Common questions
Is the result a loan approval? +
Why does my bank give a different number? +
Does Windsor arrange owner-occupier home loans? +
Get a real borrowing assessment
Book a 15 to 20 minute discovery call. Bring the property type and rough location, the loan size you are after, and a one-line plan for how the loan is repaid. We will look at the deal, talk through the likely lenders, and come back with indicative structures.
Windsor Finance is a finance broker. We hold no own capital and approve nothing. Lenders approve and lend. The purpose of each deal is confirmed in writing before it proceeds. Every cost is disclosed in writing, up front, before you commit. Finance is arranged through a panel of bank and non-bank lenders.