Building a property portfolio is a long game — and the finance decisions you make on property one affect what you can do on property three. Blambles structures investment loans to support portfolio growth, not just to fund the next transaction in isolation.
Property investment is one of the most effective long-term wealth-building strategies available to Australian individuals — and Queensland's property market, particularly Brisbane and the southeast, has delivered strong capital growth and rental yields for investors over the past decade. But building a real portfolio requires more than finding a good property: it requires finance structured in a way that doesn't limit your ability to grow.
The challenge is that many investors set up their first loan without thinking about what comes next. Cross-collateralisation — where a lender holds security over multiple properties under a single lending relationship — is common and often easier to set up initially, but it can create serious complications later: difficulty selling one property without affecting others, restrictions on refinancing, and lender control over decisions that should be yours. Standalone loan structures, properly managed from the outset, give you the flexibility a growing portfolio requires.
Interest-only loans are an important tool for investors — they reduce monthly repayments, improve cash flow and preserve the deductibility of the interest. But IO periods are typically limited to 5 years, and lenders have tightened their policies significantly in recent years. Not all lenders offer IO on investment loans at competitive rates; knowing which ones do — and at what terms — is part of what Blambles brings.
As your portfolio grows, so does the complexity of your situation. Rental income needs to be assessed correctly across multiple properties. Some lenders cap the number of investment properties they'll support. Your overall borrowing capacity across the portfolio may limit your next purchase if it isn't managed proactively. These are not problems you want to discover mid-application — they're things to plan around from the beginning.
Standalone loan structures, IO options and portfolio-friendly lenders — Blambles sets up investment loans to support your next purchase, not just the current one.
Learn more →Adding commercial property to your portfolio — for yield and diversification — with access to the specialist lenders who do this well.
Learn more →Purchasing investment property inside your SMSF — for the tax advantages of the super environment and long-term retirement building.
Learn more →Reviewing existing investment loans — removing cross-collateralisation, improving rates and restructuring to support the next stage of portfolio growth.
Learn more →Blambles thinks about your portfolio, not just your next transaction. Before recommending a lender or loan structure, he considers how it fits with your existing loans, your rental income position, your long-term borrowing capacity and your ability to grow. This means investment loans that are set up correctly from the start — and that don't create complications for properties two, three and four.
With access to 40+ lenders, Blambles can identify those who actively support portfolio investors — who don't cap out early, who offer genuine IO pricing on investment loans and who don't require cross-collateralisation as a default. These aren't details you can find on a comparison website; they're lender policies that only a broker with active market knowledge can navigate effectively.
There's no cost to you for the broker service. And for investors — where the compounding effect of good loan structure plays out over decades — the quality of the advice at each decision point has a real and lasting financial impact.
There's no hard legal limit — but lenders impose their own caps. Some major banks limit their exposure to 4–5 investment properties per borrower. Others cap the total lending at a specific dollar amount. Specialist non-bank lenders and some second-tier banks are often more flexible for portfolio investors with multiple properties. Blambles knows which lenders support portfolio growth and which will cut you off early — and structures your loans with this in mind from the beginning.
IO periods can improve cash flow on investment properties and preserve the tax deductibility of the loan interest. However, IO periods are typically limited to 5 years and lenders have tightened their policies — so they're not available from all lenders at competitive rates. Whether IO is right for your situation depends on your overall debt structure, tax position and investment strategy. Blambles can model both scenarios for your specific portfolio.
Cross-collateralisation means a lender holds security over multiple properties under a single lending relationship — linking them together. It can restrict your ability to sell or refinance individual properties, as the lender has control over the whole portfolio. Most experienced investors prefer standalone loan structures for each property, which preserves flexibility and control. Blambles specifically avoids cross-collateralised structures where possible when setting up investment loans.
Yes — lenders include rental income as part of your assessed income for serviceability purposes. However, most lenders apply a "shade" of 70–80% to rental income (accounting for vacancy and expenses) rather than using the full gross amount. The way rental income is assessed varies between lenders, and some are more generous than others — particularly for high-yield properties. Blambles ensures your rental income is documented and presented correctly to maximise its impact on your assessed capacity.
Free consultation, no obligation. Tell Blambles about your current portfolio and your goals — he'll tell you exactly what's possible and how to structure it for the long term.