Everything you need to know about what type of property to buy - 8 simple steps!
The first step in the Shortlist process isn’t about suburb selection, that comes later.
Step 1 is about deciding the type of property you want. 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.
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.
Start here - Wishlist to Shortlist and work out exactly what kind of property you need, not which suburb. Get this right first, and everything else becomes a lot easier.
1. Start with one clear purpose (pick only one)
Decide whether this purchase is a home, an investment, or both - and for now, 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 in Step 2.
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 hold. 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 a cost-to-hold calculator - we walk clients through this in our training.)
3. Build 2 - 3 clear property concepts
Think of this step as creating 2 - 3 concepts (not offers). Each concept is a repeatable brief you can test against suburbs later.
For each concept, answer:
- Purpose: Home / Investment (pick one)
- Price point: (the fixed number above)
- Property type: House / Apartment / Townhouse / Heritage
- Bedrooms/bathrooms: minimum required
- Must-haves: land size, outdoor space, parking, study, accessibility
You’ll use these concepts to compare locations, not to buy yet.
4. Use 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 type is irrelevant.
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 "musts" (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.
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’s Step 2)
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, Step 2 shows you how to apply the SMART Filter to find the few suburbs that match them.
Tools & next steps
Download the Step 1 - Property Focus Worksheet to map three concepts side-by-side.
🔍Want help working out your exact cost to hold?
Most people underestimate what their property will really cost to own - especially from overseas. In our short 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.
🎥 Watch the training here: How to calculate your property’s true cost to hold
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.
Ready to move to Step 2?
Once you have your concepts and a single price point, you’re ready to use that brief to choose where to buy. In Step 2, 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 version of this process, including the worksheet and calculator, join The Shortlist and get your free copy of Home in Sight - A Melbourne Guide for Remote Buyers. It’s the exact steps we use with every expat client to go from stuck to shortlist.