How to Check If You Can Really Service Multiple Off‑the‑Plan Loans

You can sometimes service multiple off‑the‑plan loans, but only if your income, debts and buffers still work when all future properties are tested together at higher rates and lower rent. In practice, that means modelling each loan at interest rates 3% above today, using conservative rental income, and keeping total repayments under roughly 30–35% of your after‑tax income – even if the bank’s calculator says you can borrow more.

Lenders assess your ability to service all current and future loans together, not one property at a time.

Step 1: Understand how banks stress‑test multiple properties

When you apply for your second or third off‑the‑plan loan, lenders don’t look at each property in isolation. They assess your whole portfolio at once.

Key points:

1. APRA buffer: Banks generally test repayments at current rates + 3% on principal‑and‑interest (P&I), even for interest‑only (IO) loans (APRA guidance).
2. Conservative rent: Lenders typically shade rent to 70–80% usable to allow for costs and vacancy.
3. Living expenses: They plug in at least HEM (Household Expenditure Measure), and often more if your disclosed spending is higher.
4. Other debts: Credit cards (even unused limits), car loans, HELP/HECS and business loans all hit your borrowing power.

For responsible investing, mirror that: keep your total P&I repayments under about 30–35% of after‑tax income when modelled at current rates plus 3% (a consistent safety rule across our Eastern Suburbs case studies).