The Long Game

The property is the easy part. Keeping it is the long game.

A series of decisions that have to make sense together. Start with where you stand, decide where you are heading, then plan the move in between.

Start hereSee how it works
A watercolour drawing of a Queensland street: timber Queenslanders, a red brick bungalow and a tin-roofed cottage behind their fences, a tall gum, a power pole, and two people walking the footpath

Three questions, in order.

  1. One

    Where you are now

    What you own, owe, earn and spend, and what you could carry if a year went badly.

    The Ground

  2. Two

    Where you want to be

    The life you are aiming at, costed by the year, with a date on it.

  3. Three

    How you get there

    The pathway that fits the position you are actually in, and what holding it will ask of you.

    See the pathways

Different doors into property

Five pathways. The right one depends on your position, not on the property.

Explore the property pathways
A 1970s brick home with a terracotta roof, opened up to show a family at home inside A home of your ownOwner-occupied buying, with an eye on affordability and the longer term. A fibro cottage with a green roof beside a pair of brick units on a suburban street Investment propertyA home to rent and potentially hold, with the ongoing numbers tested first. A row of two-storey units, some still in timber frame and some finished Micro apartmentsIndependent micro apartments, with specialist approvals and management. New townhouses going up along a street, from timber frame to finished homes Property developmentTurning a site into new homes, with feasibility and risks assessed first. A tired 1960s fibro house with a faded green roof and an overgrown garden Distressed opportunitiesProperties facing unusual circumstances, which need particular scrutiny. Two people talking over a notebook at a table on a verandah Not sure yetStart with your position. Working out which door fits is part of the first conversation.

How it works

Five principles that apply to every pathway.

Explore the method

  1. Before you commit

    Principle 1

    The Number

    What are you working towards, and by when?

  2. Principle 2

    The Ground

    Where you stand today: what you own, owe, earn and spend.

  3. Principle 3

    The Move

    What happens next, and whether you are in a position to do it.

  4. Once you go ahead

    Principle 4

    The Hold

    What ownership will ask of you, including the bad months.

  5. Principle 5

    The Turn

    Reviewed as life changes, and at retirement, turning what you have built into the income you live on.

The plain facts

  • Property values go up and down. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
  • Holding costs continue whether or not the property earns.
  • What you can borrow is assessed by a lender, not here.
  • General information only. Not financial, credit, tax or legal advice.
A line drawing of a Queenslander under a gum tree in the rain

Start with what matters to you.

There may be more than one way forward. The first step is understanding your circumstances.

Start here