Rentvesting
Rent where you want to live. Invest where the numbers work.
Rentvesting is a legitimate strategy, not a consolation prize. Oli Property helps rentvestors run it properly, with research across 4,800 suburbs and a 60 point review behind every recommendation.
A discovery session with Cam or Adam, our Property Investment Specialists. Bring your rent, your income and your borrowing position and we will work from there.
The actual trade
Live here. Own there.
Most housing advice quietly assumes the home you live in and the property you own should be the same building. Rentvesting separates them.
Rentvesting, in plain English: renting the home you live in, while owning an investment property anywhere in Australia where the numbers stack up.
The key difference lies in intent. An owner-occupier purchase is often influenced by proximity to work, schools, amenities and social networks. A rentvesting purchase, by contrast, is usually assessed based on factors such as rental demand, infrastructure growth, supply constraints, and long-term market fundamentals. Shifting the focus to performance.
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Many rentvestors focus on new property due to lower maintenance requirements, warranty protections and potential depreciation benefits, advantages established property can’t match.
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The suitability of this strategy depends on income stability, risk tolerance, borrowing capacity and long-term objectives. We have no reason to push you toward one outcome over another, which is why we run the numbers against our 60 data point review process, across 4,800 suburbs.
What we look at
What separates a good buy from a bad one
Each term below is the one the industry uses, followed by what it means.
Rental yield
The annual rent expressed as a percentage of what the property cost. It tells you what the property earns before any of the costs of holding it are counted. Useful for comparing locations, incomplete on its own.
Cashflow
What is left over, or what it costs you, each month once rent, loan repayments, rates, insurance and management are all counted. This is the number that decides whether a property is comfortable to hold.
Negative gearing
When the costs of holding an investment property exceed the rent it brings in, the shortfall may be deductible against your income. Whether that is useful depends on your tax position, and it is not a reason to hold a property that does not otherwise work.
Depreciation
The decline in value of a building and its fittings, which for some investors can be claimed against income. Brand new properties generally offer more of it than established ones, which can affect the cashflow position.
General information only. Tax outcomes depend on your individual circumstances and you should take independent advice before acting.
Straight answers
What rentvestors actually ask
Am I just making excuses for not buying a home?
That is the question almost every rentvestor asks themselves, and the answer is in the numbers rather than in how it feels. If the rent you pay is meaningfully below what owning the same home would cost, and the difference is going into an asset rather than nowhere, it is a strategy. If it is not, it is a preference, which is also fine but is a different thing. We can tell you which one you are looking at in about half an hour.
Does rentvesting hurt my borrowing capacity?
Rent is treated as an ongoing expense by lenders, so it does factor in. So does the rental income from the investment property. The net effect varies significantly between lenders, which is one of the reasons we start with finance rather than with property. Our own brokers work under best interest duty.
What happens when I do want to buy where I live?
That is a normal part of the plan rather than a failure of it. Some rentvestors hold the investment and buy alongside it later, some sell to fund the move. Which of those is available to you depends on how the position is structured now, which is why it is worth deciding early rather than later.
Is it too late if I have been renting for years?
No. What matters is your income, your savings or equity position and your borrowing capacity today, not how long you have rented. Markets perform at different rates and there are no guarantees, but the starting point is your current position rather than the years behind you.
You rent where you want to live and buy an investment property in a location chosen for its growth potential and rental demand. Rental income helps offset the holding costs. Over time, the strategy aims to build equity and capital growth while preserving lifestyle flexibility. Individual outcomes depend on location, property selection, borrowing capacity, and market conditions. MoneySmart has a detailed overview of property investment in Australia.
There is no universal answer. Rentvesting suits people who want lifestyle flexibility and want to start building an investment portfolio without being locked into a specific location. Buying to live in suits those who prioritise permanence and building equity in their own home. The right answer depends on your circumstances and goals.
New investment properties may offer negative gearing, capital gains tax and depreciation benefits on the building structure and fixtures. If your property is negatively geared, meaning costs exceed rental income, that loss may be tax-deductible. These benefits depend on your personal tax situation and should be discussed with your accountant before making any decisions. The ATO explains negative gearing clearly.
This depends on your lender, the property price, and whether you have existing equity. Generally, 10 to 20 per cent of the property value is required, though this varies. Oli Property offers home loan services directly, which means your borrowing capacity conversation happens in the same place as your investment strategy. A licensed mortgage broker can give you a clear picture of where you stand. MoneySmart covers what to consider when buying an investment property.
What rentvestors actually ask
Why Oli Property
Research you can check, on stock most buyers never see
Oli Property is part of Oliver Hume Property Group, which has sold Australian residential property since 1954 and helped over 290,000 Australians buy and invest in new property. Our research, led by Chief Economist Matt Bell, covers 4,800 suburbs and is relied on by government and ASX 200 companies.
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Every project is scored against more than 60 data points through our Investment Review Process before it goes to a client. Most do not pass. The ones that do are frequently available off market, before they reach realestate.com.au, because we sit inside the group that brings them to market.
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For a rentvestor that combination matters more than it does for most buyers, because your whole case rests on the investment property outperforming the one you chose not to buy. There are no guarantees that it will. The least we can do is make sure the numbers were checked properly.
Run your rentvesting numbers with someone who has no stake in the answer
Thirty minutes with a Property Investment Specialist. Bring what you pay in rent, what you earn and what you have saved. You will get a straight read on whether rentvesting is doing more for you than buying where you live would.
30 minutes, by phone
No video, no screen share, nothing to install.
With Cam or Adam
Property Investment Specialists, not a call centre.
Your loan comes first
No property gets pitched on this call.
70+
Years of property expertise
1954
Backed by Oliver Hume, est. 1954
290,000+
Australian buyers helped
4,800
Suburbs under research