Everything you need to know about what type of property to buy - 8 simple steps!
Deciding what type of property to buy can be overwhelming, especially from overseas. In this article, we guide expats and remote buyers through every step of our Wishlist to Shortlist process. You’ll learn how to define your exact purchase price, prioritise your 5 must-haves, shape nice-to-haves, and turn loose ideas into a focused property brief. We also show how to evaluate 2–3 specific concepts using our Property Focus Worksheets, giving you clarity, confidence, and a clear starting point before even thinking about location.
Start here and work out exactly what kind of property you need, not which suburb. Get this right, and everything else becomes a lot easier. However, this is often the hardest decision for expats. Are you buying a home, an investment, or a bit of both? Do you choose a house or an apartment, a townhouse or a heritage property? Three bedrooms or two?
So many options exist, and confusion here can derail the process before it starts because you can’t stroll the streets, attend open homes, or get a feel for the neighbourhoods you’re drawn to. Time zones, short visits, and a thousand listings make everything feel riskier, and very quickly you’re stuck, scrolling, second-guessing, and doing nothing.
1. Start with one clear purpose - PICK ONLY ONE!
Decide whether this purchase is a home or an investment - (We repeat for now, just choose one).
Trying to optimise for both at once is the most common reason buyers stall. Pick the single priority that matters most today and let the rest follow a plan.
- If Home: prioritise liveability, layout, and future lifestyle (schools, outdoor space, storage).
- If Investment: prioritise tenant appeal, yield, and capital growth potential.
- If you truly can’t decide: create a concept for each, but treat them separately - you’ll apply each concept to different suburbs later. Shorlist members are guided to take our remote buyer quiz to help understand their profile to create a smarter, clearer property brief.
2. Fix your EXACT price point (not a range)
This is non-negotiable!
Decide the exact amount you are willing to pay, based on what you can comfortably afford. Not a "maybe" range! A single, conservative number that fits your short- and long-term plans.
Why? Distance blunts judgment on local fees and maintenance. Being precise prevents emotional overspend and gives your whole search a clear filter.
Pro tip: Run the numbers first, rates, insurance, body corporate, maintenance, vacancy buffer, and loan servicing. Use our cost-to-hold calculator - where we walk members through our free training inside The Shortlist - Join here
3. Build 2-3 clear property concepts
Think of this as creating 2-3 learning exercises. Each concept is a repeatable brief you can test against suburbs later. Members of The Shortlist gain immediate free access to our Property Focus Worksheets to help build their concepts.
For each concept, answer:
- Purpose: Home vs Investment (pick only one)
- Price point: (a single price point)
- Property type: House / Apartment / Townhouse / Heritage
- Bedrooms/bathrooms: minimum required
- Must-haves: land size, outdoor space, parking, study, accessibility
Later, you’ll use these concepts to compare suburbs.
4. Use accurate numbers to cut through emotion
The smartest starting point is financial clarity. For each concept, estimate total holding costs and expected short-term cash flow impact. Distance means you can’t rely on casual assumptions - you must quantify:
- Rates, insurance, body corporate fees
- Ongoing maintenance (roof, plumbing, gardens)
- Expected rent (if investment) and vacancy assumptions
- Loan servicing at a conservative interest rate
If the holding cost is uncomfortable, the suburb or property type is not suitable.
5. Understand the trade-offs: House vs Apartment (and why it matters)
Different property types solve different problems and have different risks when you’re overseas.
- House: land, potential for renovations/subdivision, stronger long-term growth in many areas but higher maintenance and management needs.
- Apartment: lower entry price, easier rental management, but body corporate fees and more sensitivity to market cycles.
- Townhouse/heritage: balance of space and convenience, but check strata rules, renovation limits, and maintenance complexity.
Decide which trade-offs you accept now; don’t try to be everything.
6. Be specific about the five essentials
Define the five non-negotiables for a concept and make purpose the first and most important:
- Purpose | Home or Investment (pick only one)
- Price point | the exact amount you will pay
- Property type | house, apartment, townhouse, etc.
- Bedrooms/bathrooms | the minimum you need
- Must-have features | land size, parking, outdoor space, accessibility, or other attributes
Being specific here is what makes remote buying possible. List them in our Property Focus Worksheet - Join The Shortlist
7. Future-proofing and conservative leverage
Shortlist’s approach is conservative by design. Build a buffer into your cost planning and avoid stretching to the absolute maximum. If buying a forever home is your mission, plan how it fits into longer-term repayments. If investing first, pick assets likely to outpace the timing of your future purchase.
8. Don’t start with suburbs (that comes later)
Resist the urge to scroll through suburb listings until your concepts are defined. Suburbs will only confuse you if the brief isn’t fixed. Once you have your concepts, next we show you how to apply the SMART Filter to find the few suburbs that match them.
Tools & Resources
Join The Shortlist - Our community for Australians living abroad and remote buyers who want to take the next step toward buying in Melbourne but feel unsure where to begin. It introduces the framework we use every day to help you go from unsure where to start to crystal clear on what, where, and how to buy from the other side of the world.
Inside, you'll gain exclusive access to:
- Property Focus Worksheets to map three concepts side-by-side.
- The Expat property quiz to narrow your focus and define your purpose.
- Want help working out your exact cost to hold?
FYI - Most people we meet underestimate what their property will really cost to own, especially from overseas. In our training video, I walk you through how to use the Shortlist Cost-to-Hold Calculator, step by step. You’ll see exactly how we break down every ongoing expense - from loan repayments to insurance, maintenance, and body corporate fees - so you can buy confidently and avoid nasty surprises.
Once you’ve watched it, plug your own numbers into the calculator and record your final price point, the single number that fits both your comfort level and your long-term plan.
Next Step
Once you have your concepts, each with a single price point, you’re ready to use that brief to choose where to buy. Next, we apply the SMART Filter to shortlist suburbs that match your purpose, price, and property type, all from overseas.
If you want the full step-by-step guide of this process, including our Property Focus Worksheets, Buyer Profile Quiz, and Cost Calculator template and video guide, join The Shortlist and get your free copy of The Shortlist - A Melbourne Guide for Remote Buyers. It’s the exact steps we use with every buyer to go from stuck to being ready to submit a well-informed, strong, and confident offer to purchase the perfect property from anywhere in the world.
Warm regards,
Steve Janes