We’ve Helped Over 150+ First Home Buyers
We’ve Helped Over 150+ First Home Buyers
We help Queensland’s frontline workers understand their borrowing position, review their equity, and structure an investment loan that makes sense for their situation. If you’ve been wondering whether an investment property is within reach, a conversation with Dan is the most practical way to find out.
Specialist mortgage brokers based in Cairns, helping police, nurses, and teachers invest in property across Queensland.
No obligation. We work for you, not the banks!
Many police, nurses, and teachers are in a stronger position than they realise. If you own a home, there’s a good chance you have equity you haven’t reviewed and borrowing capacity you haven’t fully explored. Answer a few quick questions to get a rough picture of where you stand before we even speak.
No credit check. No commitment. Takes 2 minutes.
Investment property advice is easy to find. Finding someone who understands how lenders assess frontline income, who will model your numbers honestly rather than optimistically, and who will do the legwork without you needing to become a property expert first is considerably harder.
That’s the gap Houses for Heroes was built to fill.
Our principal broker spent 15 years as a police officer in Cairns before moving into finance, and that background shapes every conversation we have.
Our principal broker, Dan McEntee, is a former police officer with 15 years of service in Cairns, and that experience shapes how we approach every application.
We don’t present investment property as a guaranteed wealth strategy. We model your repayments across multiple scenarios, including what happens if rates rise, if a property sits vacant for a period, or if costs come in higher than expected. You’ll have a realistic picture of the financial commitment before you make any decisions, not after.
Shift loading, allowances, and overtime are treated differently by different lenders, and the wrong lender choice can significantly understate your actual borrowing capacity. Because we work exclusively with police, nurses, and teachers, we know which lenders favour frontline income structures and how to present your application to get an accurate result.
Comparing lenders, understanding serviceability policy, and knowing how to structure an investment loan correctly takes significant time and industry knowledge. We manage all of that on your behalf. You focus on finding the right property. We focus on finding the right loan and getting it set up properly from the start.
How an investment loan is structured can affect your ability to borrow again in the future. We take your longer-term goals into account when making structuring recommendations so you’re not inadvertently limiting your options further down the track.
We keep the process straightforward. You don’t need to have figures prepared or decisions made before you call us. The first conversation is simply about understanding your situation and giving you an honest picture of what’s possible.
01
Tell us about your income, existing property, and what you’re hoping to achieve. You’ll leave with a clear picture of your equity position and borrowing capacity, with no obligation and no cost.
02
We review your equity, assess your serviceability based on actual lender policy, and model repayment scenarios across different rate and vacancy assumptions so the numbers are clear before you commit.
03
We prepare and lodge your application, manage the approval process, and stay across every stage through to settlement so nothing falls through the cracks.
These calculators give you a useful reference point for understanding your numbers. Keep in mind that your actual borrowing capacity will depend on your income structure, existing debts, and the lender we match you with. If the numbers raise questions, that’s exactly what the strategy call is for.
Most people sit on the idea for months before having a proper conversation about their numbers. Book a free strategy call with Dan to review your equity, understand your borrowing capacity, and get a clear picture of what’s genuinely available to you. No obligation, no cost, and no pressure to proceed.
Free. No credit check. No pressure to proceed.
Most lenders require a minimum of 10 to 20 percent for an investment property, though this varies depending on your overall financial position and the lender. If you already own a home with sufficient equity, it’s often possible to use that equity as your deposit rather than drawing on cash savings. We assess your position properly before you start property searching, so you know exactly what you’re working with.
In many cases, yes. Usable equity is generally the difference between your property’s current value and 80 percent of that value, minus your remaining loan balance. If you haven’t had your property formally valued recently, there’s a reasonable chance you have more equity available than you realise. We conduct a full equity review as part of the initial strategy call so you have a clear figure to work with.
A positively geared property generates more in rental income than it costs you to hold, meaning it puts money in your pocket from the start. A negatively geared property costs more to hold than it earns in rent, which some investors accept in exchange for potential long-term capital growth and tax benefits. Neither approach is better by default. What matters is whether the structure suits your cash flow, your risk tolerance, and your longer-term goals. We model both scenarios clearly so your decision is based on real numbers rather than assumptions.
Most lenders count between 70 and 80 percent of expected gross rental income towards your serviceability assessment, to account for vacancy periods and ongoing costs. The exact shading factor varies by lender, which is one reason lender selection matters for investment purchases. We factor rental income into your assessment accurately so your borrowing capacity reflects the full picture.
It depends on the lender. Some count allowances and overtime in full, others apply reductions, and some exclude variable income components altogether. Because we work exclusively with police, nurses, and teachers, we know which lenders assess frontline income most favourably and we structure applications accordingly. The difference between lenders on this point can meaningfully affect your total borrowing capacity.
It can, depending on how the investment loan is structured and what your overall debt position looks like. This is one of the reasons loan structuring matters from the beginning. We take your future borrowing goals into account when making structuring recommendations so you’re not inadvertently closing off options you’ll want later.
No. Our service is at no direct cost to you. We are paid a commission by the lender when your loan settles, and this doesn’t affect the rate or terms you receive. Because we compare over 40 lenders, we’re generally able to identify more suitable options than going directly to a single bank.
Yes. We work with police, nurses, and teachers throughout Queensland. Everything can be handled remotely by phone, email, or video call, and many of our clients manage the process around their roster without any need to come into an office.
