Investment property loans, placed across a panel of lenders
Finance for property investors buying or refinancing residential or commercial rental property, structured to keep a portfolio growing, with indicative terms in 3 to 5 business days.
An investment property loan funds a residential or commercial rental property bought to earn rental income and grow over time, rather than the home you live in. Lenders assess an investment home loan on the rental income the property earns plus your other income, tested against the lender’s serviceability buffer, and they apply a tighter buffer and a higher interest rate to a property investor than to an owner-occupier. The amount you can reach is set by that serviceability test and by the LVR the lender will lend against the property value, so two lenders can offer very different answers on the same deal.
Windsor Finance is a broker, not a lender. We hold no own capital and approve nothing. We compare investment home loans across a panel of banks and non-bank lenders with different servicing rules and LVR appetites, then place the facility with the one that lets the portfolio keep moving. This is the main hub for investment property loans in Australia: how investor lending works, what drives the interest rate and the comparison rate, the loan options across personal, company and trust structures, and how a broker frees equity for the next purchase. Windsor focuses on investment and business-purpose property lending, not first-home or owner-occupier consumer home loans.
Key facts
- Indicative cost ~6-8% p.a. on prime residential investment lending; alt-doc and complex structures higher
- LVR up to around 80% on standard residential investment (LMI applies above 80%), lower on commercial
- Assessed on rental income plus other income against the lender’s serviceability buffer
| Scenario | Indicative rate | LVR |
|---|---|---|
| Prime residential investment | ~6-8% p.a.* | ~80% |
| Commercial investment | By case* | Lower |
| Alt-doc / complex structure | Higher* | By case |
Cost calculator
How investor lending works
An investment property loan works much like any other home loan, with one difference that sets the whole deal: the lender counts rental income but tests it harder. To buy an investment property, the lender takes the expected rent on the property, discounts it, adds your other income, and runs the lot against a serviceability buffer that is deliberately tougher for an investor than for an owner-occupier. That buffer, the property value and the LVR decide your loan amount. Many property investors run it as an interest-only loan for a set period to keep repayments low while the portfolio builds, then revert to principal and interest. Whether a variable rate, a fixed rate, or a split suits you depends on how long you plan to hold and how much certainty you want on the repayments, and that is a choice we model before you commit.
Investor interest rates and the comparison rate
An investment home loan carries a higher interest rate than the equivalent owner-occupier facility, because lenders price investor risk and investor policy more tightly. Indicatively, prime residential investment runs around 6% to 8% per annum, with alt-doc and complex structures higher; the lender confirms the rate, the term and the comparison rate on application. The headline variable rate is only part of the picture. The comparison rate folds in the main fees, so a lower advertised rate loan can cost more once an annual fee or a high application cost is counted. We read the whole cost, not the front number, and we weigh a sharp variable home loan against a fixed rate home loan on the years you actually intend to hold the property. A small margin on the right facility compounds across a portfolio.
What sets your loan amount on an investment property
Borrowing power on an investment property is decided before the property purchase, and it surprises investors more than any other number. The lender starts from the property value and the LVR it will lend, then tests serviceability: rental income at a haircut, plus your income, against repayments calculated at an assessment rate well above the actual home loan interest rate. Existing debt across your other investment properties and the buffer on it eat into the result, which is why a property investor often stalls at one lender while another, with a kinder rental treatment or a higher investor LVR, keeps lending. A broker matters most here. We know which lenders count rental income generously, which cap investor exposure soonest, and which leave room over the life of the loan to buy again.
Borrowing through personal, company and trust structures
The way you hold investment properties shapes the loan, the tax and the next purchase. Investors borrow in their own name, through a company, or through a trust, and lenders differ widely on which structures they accept and how they assess them. Trust and company lending narrows the panel and can change the rate, so the structure and the loan have to be chosen together, alongside your accountant. Equity is the other lever. Rather than cross-collateralising everything with one bank, we arrange an equity release against an existing property to fund the deposit on the next, keeping each security clean so a single lender’s exposure limit does not cap the portfolio. That discipline is what lets investors keep buying instead of stalling at one institution.
How to compare investor lending across the panel
No two lenders price the same risk the same way, so comparing the market is where a broker earns its place. We line up home loan rates, the comparison rate, the loan product features and the fees side by side, because the lowest advertised rate home loans are not always the cheapest once an annual fee, an offset, or a redraw is counted. The cost calculator on this page is a quick guide; the real work is matching the home loan interest rate to how you hold the property and how long you will keep it. Acting as your home loan specialist, we know which lenders favour investment properties in a trust, which lend hardest on rental income, and which will move on rate when the file is clean. That comparison, done across the panel rather than at one bank, is what keeps the cost of a growing portfolio down.
Repayment options and the home loan application
You have a real choice on how you repay. Principal and interest pays the loan balance down from day one; interest only loans keep the home loan repayments lower for a set period while a portfolio builds, then revert to principal and interest, often at a higher payment, so the reversion has to be planned. The loan term on an investment home loan, usually up to 30 years, and whether any portion is fixed shape the monthly cost across the whole facility. When you are ready, the application turns on clean evidence: the rental appraisal, your income, the valuation and your existing commitments. Unlike owner-occupier home buyers, an investor is also judged on portfolio exposure, so we order the file so the strongest lender sees a complete case. Many of our investment properties settle faster simply because the application went in right the first time.
Investment home loan vs an owner-occupier home loan
An investor facility and an owner-occupier home loan fund property the same way on paper, but lenders price and assess them differently. Knowing the gap helps you plan the next purchase.
Investment home loan
- Funds a rental property bought for income and growth
- Assessed on rental income plus your other income
- Higher interest rate and a tighter serviceability buffer
- Interest-only periods common while a portfolio builds
- Held in personal, company or trust structures
Owner-occupier home loan
- Funds the home you live in (not what Windsor arranges)
- Assessed on your personal income alone
- Lower interest rate and a lighter buffer
- Usually principal and interest from the start
- Held in personal names only
When investor lending fits
Acquire the next property without stalling at one bank's exposure limit.
Refinance to free equity and fund the deposit on the next acquisition.
Move borrowing across personal, company and trust entities cleanly.
What property investors ask before applying
Why is my borrowing power lower than I expected? +
Should I choose a variable rate or a fixed rate home loan? +
Can I keep buying once one bank says no? +
Do you arrange owner-occupier home loans too? +
Common questions
What LVR can I get on an investment property? +
Can I borrow in a trust or company? +
Do you offer a loan calculator? +
How fast can an investment loan settle? +
Is an interest-only or principal-and-interest loan better for an investor? +
How do investment home loans differ from an owner-occupier loan? +
Read the guides
Plain-English guides that sit under this hub. The wider finance guides hub links to every guide we publish.
Get indicative investment loan terms in days
Tell us the property, the rent and the structure. A broker compares investment home loans across the panel and comes back with indicative terms, including the room to buy again. Structuring and shortlisting cost nothing until you give the go-ahead.