You can draw upon the equity either by way of a line of credit or a standard variable product with an offset. With the latter – the funds would sit in an offset so no interest would be payable until the funds have been accessed. 

However be careful of contaminating deductible and non deductible interest on the loan. There is a lot of things to factor – e.g. a lot of lenders will only allow for one offset and you may need a lender that can accommodate multiple offsets.

Tapping all the equity – accessing the funds at 80% so that you can use for subsequent purchases, renovations, etc depending on the strategy. 

Who is your current lender?

A lender will lend you up to 90% (some times 95%) of the value of the property. At 80% LMI is not payable but anything over that is.

So if your property value is $400,000 then at 80% you have $320,000 in equity minus your current loan balance of $150,000 – the usable equity is $170,000.

Make sure the loans and properties are standalone and not crossed. Also ensure that all your income (include the proposed rental income) is going in an offset held against the PPOR loan. 

Consider tapping all of your equity today even if you do not plan to use it all in the next purchase.

a) how are you calculating "equity" and

b) different lenders may use different valuers so it could turn out that your equity is more than you think

Yep classic case of cross securitisation and poor loan structuring. Good for the broker and the bank because it will give you less flexibility to move but terrible for you. 

Did you go through longer term planning and discuss your plans with the IP and overall portfolio strategy?

This is why upfront valuations are key however be careful you dont have the same valuer inspecting the property. Also when they did the valuations – did you provide all the outgoing costs to the valuer?

Best to stick with the current broker as you don't want another hit on your credit file at 95%.

However – something is not right and Westpac is probably the best bank right now in terms of turnaround times.

Just to give you an idea – I submit an application this morning at around 8am and had it Formally Approved by midday.

Just tell him that you spoke to your friend's broker who is also going with Westpac and he said the turnaround times are 24-48 hours.

If you submitted the application on Monday you should have received the approval back by Tuesday.

Westpac is currently working on 1 day turnaround times.

Ok credit enquiries wise – you are ok. To a degree I would like to see a breakdown in the enquiries (i.e. if they were unsecured or secured enquiries). 

Re the jobs – is it the same line of work/professional or is it a change in professions?

You will have finance restrictions so you will need to look at sub 80% LVR. 

Get specific legal advice – a caveat is not a legal instruct claiming ownership. It just states that you have interest in the property and issues will arise when it comes to further borrowings against the property. Lenders do not like caveats.

Also not sure how old your dad is but is age may be an issue so you need to factor this.

All in all please plan carefully rather than unknowingly and randomly choosing a lender and creating unnecessary hits on your credit file.