Full-doc
What you bring
2 yrs ITR + NOA · company financials · BAS
- Rate from
- 6.04%
- Max LVR
- 90%
- Turnaround
- 14–21 days
- Lenders
- 24
MELBOURNE · SUBURB · 3125
Burwood's specialist for overseas-parent buyers, Deakin-belt investment apartments and FIRB applicants — Deakin University belt, international student families and Pty Ltd investors use Halo Loan
Burwood (postcode 3125) sits adjacent to Deakin University Burwood Campus — one of south-east Melbourne's most concentrated international-student + overseas-parent investor markets. Median house $1.1-1.3M, Deakin-adjacent investment apartments $480-680k, international-student rental demand sustaining 4.5-5% gross yields. Buyer mix tilts unusual: overseas parents purchasing for Deakin-attending children (FIRB pathway), Deakin staff / academics, Pty Ltd company investors buying student apartment clusters. For overseas-parent buyers, the core challenge isn't servicing-test mechanics — it's the layered stack of FIRB approval, offshore-income bridging, 8% foreign-buyer stamp duty surcharge, and foreign-buyer LVR caps at specific lenders. Halo Loan's Melbourne CBD office (Level 9, 3 Bowen Crescent) maintains 6 overseas / short-PR friendly lender + 4 student-apartment under-50sqm friendly lender policy tables. Bilingual English / Mandarin, fully remote-processable.
Who this is for
Overseas parents buying for Deakin students
FIRB pathway + offshore-income bridging + 8% stamp duty surcharge stack together — looks complex but the process is well-trodden. 6 lenders accept offshore income proof + high deposit, fully remote-processable.
Pty Ltd companies investing in Deakin student apartment clusters. Corporate-held + retained earnings servicing — 3 lenders accept Pty Ltd as borrower, with director personal guarantee + 2 years' company financials required.
Deakin staff / academics + consulting ABN hybrid
University PAYG + consulting / research-grant income. 6 hybrid-friendly lenders combine both sides into one borrowing capacity, 15-20% higher than separate applications.
Burwood commercial-belt Chinese hospo / service operators running owner-occupier + investment combos. Alt-doc + 6-month bank evidence pathway — the process is well-trodden for this profile.
What we handle
FIRB + 8% stamp duty surcharge budgeting
Overseas-parent FIRB application fee $14-43k + 8% surcharge on a $600k apartment ≈ $48k. We model total landing cost (loan + FIRB + dual stamp duty) — don't reach settlement and discover you undercounted by $60k.
Offshore income servicing bridging. 6 lenders accept China / Hong Kong / Singapore / Malaysia income proof — employer letter + 6 months' offshore bank statements + certified translation. LVR typically caps at 60-70%.
Deakin student apartments under 50sqm LVR policy
Burwood's Deakin-adjacent apartments often fall under 50sqm; mainstream lender LVR caps 60-70%. 3 lenders accept 50-60% LVR with a 0.5% rate loading — but practical deposit lands at 40-50%, budget directly.
Pty Ltd-held Deakin investment tax structure trade-offs. 30% flat company rate vs individual marginals — but corporate exit loses the 50% CGT discount. We model NPV across company / individual / trust holdings — long holds typically favour individual.
Documentation Pathway Matrix
Find the rate, LVR, and turnaround that matches the documents you can supply.
Alt-doc
What you bring
6 mo bank statements · ABN ≥ 2 yrs · self-declaration
- Rate from
- 6.49%
- Max LVR
- 80%
- Turnaround
- 14–28 days
- Lenders
- 18
BAS-only
What you bring
4 quarters of BAS · ABN ≥ 2 yrs
- Rate from
- 6.59%
- Max LVR
- 80%
- Turnaround
- 10–21 days
- Lenders
- 12
Accountant letter
What you bring
Signed accountant declaration · 6 mo bank statements
- Rate from
- 6.69%
- Max LVR
- 80%
- Turnaround
- 14–21 days
- Lenders
- 8
Indicative only — actual rate and LVR cap subject to lender formal approval.
Honest trade-offs
FIRB refusals / delays
FIRB approval isn't automatic. Corporate buyers, holders of multiple existing properties, specific visa classes — these routinely get 30+ business day delays or imposed conditions. Don't sign contracts before FIRB issues; failing FIRB after signing triggers default penalties.
8% stamp duty surcharge is not refundable — overseas parents often assume surcharge refunds when child gets PR, but it doesn't. Surcharge status locks at contract date. If child's PR is imminent (<12 months), wait and buy in their name post-PR.
Deakin student apartment lender concentration caps: some lenders limit individual buildings to 15-20% exposure, student apartment clusters particularly tight. Confirm lender exposure status before signing — send the address, 30 seconds to check.
Offshore income locks at contract-date FX rate in servicing — won't adjust at settlement. When RMB / HKD weakens against AUD, the higher locked rate works in your favour; when it strengthens, the lower locked figure can't update. FX volatility makes contract timing matter.
Frequently asked
I'm in China — buying a Burwood apartment at $580k for my child studying at Deakin. Total cost with FIRB + lending?
Classic Burwood overseas-parent case. Total landing cost on $580k breaks into 5 components: (1) Purchase $580k; (2) FIRB application fee $14k (under-$1M tier); (3) VIC stamp duty + 8% foreign-buyer surcharge ≈ $58k; (4) Legal / inspections / FIRB lawyer $4-6k; (5) Loan fees $1-2k. Total cash outlay $657-660k. Via one of 6 overseas-friendly lenders (Bank of China Australia / ICBC / St.George / Bankwest / Suncorp / Westpac International), LVR caps 60-70% — deposit 30-40% ($175-235k). Rest serviced via offshore income proof (employer letter + 6 months' offshore bank statements + certified translations). Recommended sequence: file FIRB application in parallel with loan pre-approval; sign contract after FIRB approval issues — avoid the contract-default trap of signing pre-FIRB. Mainland China buyers can process fully remote.
Child finishing Deakin in 3 months, planning to apply for PR after — does buying post-PR save money?
Almost certainly. Comparison of buying $580k Burwood now as overseas vs in child's name post-PR: (1) 8% foreign-buyer surcharge saves $48k (no surcharge post-PR). (2) FIRB fee saves $14k (PR doesn't need FIRB). (3) LVR cap loosens — overseas 60-70% vs PR 80-90%. Same $580k apartment: overseas needs $175-235k deposit, PR needs $58-116k — $100k+ less cash tied up. (4) Rate differential 0.3-0.5% — overseas-buyer rates higher; 30-year accumulated interest gap runs tens of thousands to over $100k. Total saving $162k+. Caveat: time PR processing (post-graduation 482 → PR runs 12-18 months minimum) against Burwood price trajectory. If the specific property won't hold 12 months, run opportunity-cost math. We model 'overseas now vs PR later' NPV at pre-check.
Pty Ltd company buying 4 Deakin student apartments as a cluster investment — viable?
Viable but manage 3 things: (1) Lender concentration caps — single-building exposure caps at 15-20%, so 4 apartments must spread across different buildings. Otherwise the 3rd and 4th get declined simultaneously. (2) Under-50sqm student apt LVR cap — 3 lenders accept 50-65% LVR with 0.5% rate loading. $520k × 4 = $2.08M total. At LVR 60%, deposit $832k + stamp duty $112k + Pty Ltd land tax (company-held) ~$30k/year. Heavy cash + ongoing carrying cost. (3) Rental in servicing — Deakin student apartments gross yield ~5%, 4-apartment net rental ~$80k/yr, typically covers servicing — but vacancy risk is real (Nov-Feb vacancy peaks + international student policy shifts). Recommend: pilot 1 first, run 12 months actual cash flow / vacancy / capital growth, then scale. We can pull 4-apartment feasibility shortlist + vacancy-stressed model at pre-check.
Husband: overseas PAYG, me: AU self-employed ABN 3 years. Joint application for $1.2M Burwood owner-occupier — what's borrowable?
Cross-border hybrid application. The 6 overseas + hybrid friendly lenders Halo Loan works with (Bank of China Australia / ICBC / St.George / Bankwest / Suncorp / Bendigo) apply: overseas PAYG locked at contract-date FX rate with 80% concentration / FX risk discount + AU self-employed ABN 3 years on alt-doc at '6 months bank statements × 80%'. Typical scenario: husband overseas RMB ¥500k/yr (~AUD $110k contract rate), lender counts $110k × 80% = $88k; wife AU self-employed net $80k × 80% = $64k → $152k total serviceable. Owner-occupier 80% LVR, 6.49% rate, 30-year P&I gives ~$700-780k borrowable (deposit $420-500k). Note: lenders prefer one AU-status spouse as anchor borrower with overseas spouse as co-applicant — all 6 accept this structure but the dual status must be disclosed clearly.
Burwood (Deakin) vs Hawthorn (Swinburne) student-apartment investment — which is better?
Depends on the goal. Three dimensions: (1) Entry price — Burwood Deakin apartments $480-680k vs Hawthorn Swinburne $550-850k. Burwood 15-20% lower, gentler entry. (2) Rental yield — Burwood 5-5.5% gross vs Hawthorn 4.5-5% gross. Burwood +0.5%. (3) Capital growth — Hawthorn historical 5-6% vs Burwood 3-4%. Hawthorn +2%. Total return (yield + growth) — Burwood ~8.5%, Hawthorn ~9.5%, Hawthorn slightly ahead. But scale + exit liquidity + carrying tax matters: Hawthorn entry expensive, land tax stacks, Pty Ltd land tax steeper. Burwood cheap entry, lower land tax, bigger buyer pool (better exit liquidity). Calls: (a) Large portfolio / long hold / capital accumulation → Hawthorn wins. (b) Single cash-flow investment / medium hold (5-7 years) / stable-yield preference → Burwood wins. We pull 5-year and 10-year NPV for both at pre-check.
Next step
3-minute pre-check for burwood mortgage broker · overseas-parent / firb / deakin-belt investment specialist
Drop a few basics. We cross-check 40+ lenders against your situation and return how much you can borrow + which doc pathway is right for you.
Talk to a human
Buying in Burwood? Book a free 15-minute call.
No form, no credit check. Tell us your situation (self-employed / PAYG hybrid / visa / school-zone purchase) and we'll tell you which of the 40+ lenders fit Burwood, what rate tier you'd hit, and which doc pathway makes sense. Bilingual English / Mandarin, local Melbourne line 1300 389 118.
Open Mon–Sat 9:00 am – 7:00 pm Melbourne time. Voicemails returned within 24 hours.