Your home loan is the engine, not the obstacle.
Two numbers in. See how disciplined extra repayments, equity release, and debt recycling can turn one home loan into a property portfolio over 25 years. Built for property investors, owner-occupiers, and anyone weighing their next move.
Better numbers. Better decisions. The maths on your own future.
Adjust the inputs to match your situation. The calculation runs the same debt-recycling model used in the story above. Numbers update live.
Run your own numbers.
This shows what leverage on the numbers detailed could support, and what income is needed at each step of the way. Equity opens the door. Income determines the ability to walk through it.
How that adds up at year 25
What each step would ask of you
Equity opens the door. Income determines the ability to walk through it. The figure beside each property is the combined household income you would need at the time you bought it, to cover every loan you hold by then plus your living costs, after your rent is counted. These are indicative figures, not a lender assessment, and they exclude your own borrowing history and the policy differences between lenders. The model stops buying once a purchase would need more income than your household has at that point, and because your income grows over time, that limit rises year on year. So the list below is not a target, it is a ceiling. If your income can stretch further than the model assumes, speak with Charter Finance rather than relying on this tool.
Your rental position at year 25
Why the home loan is the lever, not the obstacle.
Most owner-occupiers treat the mortgage as a 30-year sentence. We treat it as the engine. Every extra repayment converts cashflow into equity. Equity is what funds the next property. The investment portfolio is a downstream consequence of how the home loan was structured in the first place.
This calculator illustrates a debt-recycling strategy. Whether this strategy is appropriate for you depends on your tax position, lender policy, your investment goals, your borrowing capacity, and other factors not modelled here. Charter Finance is not a tax adviser. Speak to a qualified accountant or wealth planner before implementing. General information only.
Key assumptions in this model
- What this is: a picture of what your leverage could support if a lender funded every step, and what income each step would ask of you. It is an illustration, not a forecast or a lender assessment.
- Borrowing capacity is not assessed: the biggest thing this model leaves out. The income figures are indicative only. They do not account for your credit history, existing commitments, or the differences between lenders.
- Equity and purchases: usable equity is capped at 80% of your home value less your loan, which keeps you clear of lenders mortgage insurance. A purchase triggers when that equity covers a 20% deposit plus stamp duty and the income needed stays within reach. Each property is assumed to be a similar one growing at the rate you set, so there is a natural limit to how many one home can fund. You might buy at different price points or in different states, which is a conversation for Charter Finance.
- Tax against your salary: this illustration applies none, the conservative case. With the legislated changes, losses on established property are carried forward rather than deducted from your salary, while a new property can be negatively geared in full. Your real position could be better. This is general information, not tax advice.
- Investment debt: priced 0.30% above your owner-occupier rate and run interest-only while your home loan remains. Real interest-only terms are shorter and must be renegotiated, so treat this as a best case.
- The shortfall is funded from your income: the properties cost more to hold than they earn, in every year here. You cover that gap from your income, alongside your home loan and extra repayment. This is the assumption that matters most, and it is why the income beside each purchase is the real test.
- Some figures are simplified: stamp duty is a flat 5% (it varies by state), holding costs are 25% of rent, land is 45% of value for land tax, and your extra repayment stays flat in dollar terms. Growth and yield defaults reflect Cotality data at May 2026 and can be changed.
- Not modelled: lenders mortgage insurance, buying costs, vacancy, depreciation, rate movements, capital gains tax, and any sale.
- Currency: tax settings current and verified at 20 August 2026 against ATO, Treasury and state revenue sources. Legislation is still being finalised and may change. Confirm your position with a qualified accountant before acting.