How Many Investment Properties Can a Dentist Afford to Own
By Ewan Ramsey | Founder and CEO, Ramsey Property Wealth
.png)
A dentist can afford to own only as many investment properties as their borrowing capacity, household cash flow and cash reserves can sustainably support. There is no reliable property count attached to a particular salary. The answer depends on the debt already in place, the cost of the properties being considered, practice commitments and the income available to hold them through changing conditions.
Following his presentation to dental professionals at ADX Brisbane 2026, Ewan Ramsey examines how dentists and practice owners can assess their capacity to invest beyond their next purchase.
Property can help dental professionals build wealth outside their working income, but a growing portfolio can also require more of that income to keep it running. A strong salary and rising property values do not automatically make the next acquisition affordable. An investor may have enough equity for a deposit and still be unable to obtain another loan, or secure finance for a purchase that leaves less financial flexibility than they expected.
For a dentist considering a second, third or subsequent investment, the useful starting point is a current assessment of the properties,
loans and commitments already in place. That assessment should establish what another purchase would cost, how it would be funded and
whether the investor could comfortably retain it if their circumstances changed.
Why the same income can support very different portfolios
Two dentists earning similar amounts can have very different investment capacity. One may have a modest home loan, manageable living costs and properties that require little additional cash. The other may be funding a practice acquisition, carrying equipment debt and supporting investment properties with substantial monthly shortfalls.
Their gross incomes might be comparable, but the income remaining after tax, debt repayments and household commitments may be very different. Even the same number of properties can represent very different financial positions. Purchase prices, debt levels, rental income, maintenance requirements and ownership costs all affect what a portfolio requires from its owner.
Setting a target of four or six properties before assessing those commitments can therefore produce a plan that looks attractive on paper but is difficult to sustain. A more useful target begins with the wealth or income the investor wants to create, the timeframe available and the level of financial commitment they can carry along the way.
Borrowing capacity and affordability need separate assessments
Borrowing capacity is the amount a lender is prepared to advance under its credit assessment. Affordability concerns the effect of that borrowing on the investor's actual finances and future plans. Both need to be understood before another purchase.
In its 28 May 2026 policy update, APRA confirmed a mortgage serviceability buffer of three percentage points. This means the rate used in a bank's serviceability assessment can be higher than the rate the borrower pays. Existing liabilities and the lender's treatment of income and expenses also affect the result. A borrowing assessment should use the lender's applicable policies at the time of application.
Approval does not determine whether a purchase fits the investor's preferred lifestyle, practice expansion plans or intended reduction in working hours. A dentist planning to move from five clinical days to three needs to understand how the portfolio would operate on that lower income. A practice owner preparing for a fit-out or a new associate may need to retain cash that would otherwise be available for investment.
The lending assessment and the household forecast should therefore inform the same decision. Maximising the amount available to borrow is not a sufficient investment objective on its own.
Practice revenue is not the same as personal investment income
For practice owners, turnover can create a misleading impression of available income. Revenue must support staffing, rent, equipment, supplies, business finance and other operating commitments before it becomes money available to the owner.
The investment plan needs to distinguish between income available for personal use and money required by the practice. It should also allow for tax payments, planned capital expenditure and periods when profits are lower than expected. A lender's assessment of a self-employed applicant will depend on its policies and the financial evidence provided.
Employed dentists and associates have different considerations, including the reliability of variable earnings and any intended change to working arrangements. In each case, the aim is to establish a dependable income base for the plan rather than assume that the strongest recent earnings will continue indefinitely.
Work out what the portfolio actually costs to hold
A rent figure or gross yield does not show what a property contributes to the investor's bank balance. The calculation needs actual loan payments and a realistic allowance for operating expenses, vacancies and irregular costs.
ASIC's Moneysmart guidance on buying an investment property identifies rates, insurance, management fees, maintenance, land tax and body corporate fees among ongoing ownership costs. It also highlights the need to cover expenses when a property has no tenant. These costs should be checked for each property rather than applied as one standard allowance across the portfolio.
Principal repayments use cash even though they build equity. Maintenance and major replacements can arrive unevenly, so a year with few repairs may understate the longer-term holding cost. Tax outcomes should be modelled separately with an accountant; an expected deduction or refund does not remove the need to pay a bill when it falls due.
For a more detailed explanation, read The Complete Guide to Property Portfolio Cash Flow.
What another purchase could do to monthly cash flow
Consider a hypothetical dentist whose three investment properties together collect $9,000 in rent each month. Their actual loan payments total $6,800, and operating costs and reserves average $1,800. The portfolio currently leaves $400 before tax.
They are considering another property with expected rent of $2,400 a month, loan payments of $2,600 and operating costs and reserves of $650. That property would require an additional $850 a month, bringing the combined portfolio to a $450 monthly shortfall before tax.
| Rent received |
$9,000 |
$2,400 |
$11,400 |
| Actual loan payments |
($6,800) |
($2,600) |
($9,400) |
| Operating costs and reserves |
($1,800) |
($650) |
($2,450) |
| Cash surplus or shortfall |
$400 |
($850) |
($450) |
The dentist may be comfortable funding that shortfall. However, the assessment also needs to include purchase costs, the finance used for any equity-funded deposit and the reserves remaining after settlement. If another loan is required to release equity, its repayments must be included in the forecast as well.
These figures are illustrative assumptions, not a client result, market forecast or borrowing assessment. The example shows why the next property's cash requirement needs to be added to the existing portfolio before a purchase decision is made.
Available equity does not replace accessible cash
Equity is the difference between a property's value and the debt secured against it. Some of that equity may be available to support further borrowing, subject to valuation, serviceability and lender policy. Accessing it generally means taking on additional debt, with its own cost and repayment commitments.
Cash reserves serve a different purpose. They allow the investor to meet expenses without depending on a new loan or a sale at the time the money is needed. Property cannot always be sold quickly, and the sale process itself has costs.
The reserve required should reflect household expenses, portfolio shortfalls, foreseeable property work and the stability of professional income. A practice owner also needs to identify which funds are genuinely available for personal investment and which are needed by the business. The acquisition budget should show the cash remaining after settlement, not just whether the deposit can be assembled.
Assess whether you can hold the portfolio with less income
A sustainable plan needs to work beyond today's income and interest rate. Before adding another property, assess the effect of reduced clinical hours, a temporary interruption to earnings, vacancies, unexpected repairs and higher loan payments. Where relevant, include the repayment change when an interest-only period ends.
Testing each change separately helps identify the source of pressure. Testing a plausible combination shows whether several manageable events could become difficult when they occur together. For example, a vacant property during a period of reduced practice income could place more pressure on reserves than either event would alone.
There is no universal stress-test result that makes every portfolio suitable. The purpose is to understand the commitments, identify the conditions under which they become difficult and decide whether the remaining flexibility is acceptable before buying.
The next property should support the plan for the whole portfolio
A higher-yielding property may improve rental income, but yield alone does not establish its suitability. The investor still needs to assess location, tenant demand, condition, ownership costs, concentration risk and the evidence supporting its longer-term prospects. Likewise, expected capital growth should not be used to overlook a shortfall the household cannot comfortably fund.
Acquisition order can affect the options available later. A purchase that absorbs substantial cash or lending capacity may delay another investment, a practice purchase or a planned change in working hours. Those consequences should be modelled before the investor commits.
For some dentists, the assessment will support another acquisition. For others, reviewing finance, building reserves or improving an existing asset's performance may be the more appropriate next step. The decision should follow from the investor's circumstances and objectives rather than a predetermined property count.
Establish your capacity before choosing your next property
At Ramsey Property Wealth, portfolio planning, finance advisory and national buyers advocacy are considered together. We begin with the investor's existing position so that a proposed purchase can be assessed against their broader commitments and long-term goals.
For dental professionals, this means understanding the relationship between professional earnings, practice finances, household expenses and the properties already owned. It also means making clear which assumptions support the plan and when those assumptions need to be reviewed.
If you are considering another investment property, arrange
a portfolio planning discovery call with the Ramsey team.
Establish what your existing portfolio can support before deciding what to add to it.