Briana McDonagh — Mortgage Adviser

First investment property checklist

A practical, tick-as-you-go list for everything to sort before and after settling on your first rental property.

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Before you commit

General groundwork, before you're looking at a specific property

Pre-approved for finance, so you know your real budget, including where you sit on LVR and DTI for an investment purchase

Researched Healthy Homes requirements, so you know what a property will need to meet before it can legally be rented out

Reviewed a repayment calculator against likely rent in your target area, so you can see how the numbers work in principle

Researched local property managers, even if you're planning to self-manage, worth knowing your options and typical fees upfront

Spoken to an accountant about how best to structure this purchase, before you sign anything

You've found a property

Due diligence, once you have a specific property in mind

Order the LIM report and builder's report for this property

Insurance quotes obtained for this specific property

Rental appraisal obtained from a property manager or local agent for this property, so you know realistic rent, not just an estimate

Council rates for this specific property checked and confirmed

Final unconditional approval obtained from the bank

Lawyer engaged and due diligence completed

Around settlement

The week either side of getting the keys

Landlord insurance in place from settlement day

Rates and any body corporate fees transferred into your name

Getting it tenant-ready

Before the first tenant moves in, your property manager is the right person to guide the detail here

Property manager engaged, or self-management approach decided, based on the research done earlier

Property confirmed compliant with Healthy Homes and smoke alarm requirements, via your property manager or an inspector

Tenancy agreement and bond process sorted, following current Tenancy Services guidance

Ongoing, once tenanted

Habits worth setting up from day one

Separate bank account for rental income and expenses, makes tax time far simpler

IRD notified of the new rental income source

Records started for expenses you can claim, rates, insurance, interest, repairs and maintenance

Reminder set for your next fixed rate expiry, so refixing is never a surprise

Your progress is saved in this browser, so you can come back and pick up where you left off.