How Much Can I Borrow? Why It's the Wrong First Question

Most people come to me asking how much they can borrow. That’s always the starting point. But it’s rarely the only question that matters.

Here’s what I mean. A lender will run your income, your expenses, your existing debts and your deposit through a formula and give you a number. That number tells you what’s possible today, with today’s rates, at that particular lender. It doesn’t tell you whether that’s the right amount to borrow, the right lender to borrow it from, or the right structure for where your life is actually headed.

Why the number moves more than people expect

Borrowing power isn’t a fixed figure. It changes based on which lender you ask, because every lender assesses income, expenses and existing commitments slightly differently. A number that feels disappointing at one lender can look completely different at another. This is one of the main reasons independent advice across multiple lenders matters more than a single bank’s calculator.

It also moves with your circumstances. Self-employed income, casual work, a HECS debt, existing car or personal loans, even how many credit cards you hold with a limit you don’t use, all factor in. None of it is a dealbreaker on its own. It just changes the shape of what’s realistic.

The questions that come after the number

Once you know roughly what’s possible, the more useful conversation starts:

• Is this the amount you actually want to commit to, or just the ceiling?
• Does the loan structure suit what you’re planning over the next two, five or ten years?
• If your income or circumstances are likely to change, does the structure still hold up?
• Is there a smarter way to structure the deposit, the loan splits, or the timing?

That’s where the real work happens. Not in the number itself, but in what you do with it.

Where to start

If you want a rough sense of scale before we talk, the borrowing calculator will give you an indicative figure in a couple of minutes. It’s a starting point, not the final answer.

If you’re at the very beginning of thinking about this, the honest answer is: have the conversation before you get too fixed on a number from a calculator. I’ll ask about your full situation, not just your payslip, and we’ll figure out together what’s actually right for you.