How much cash buffer should you keep for an investment property?
Keep the property through difficult periods.
Best for: Any owner without a property-specific cash buffer
Ask ten people how much buffer to hold and you'll get ten different universal numbers. None of them are about your property. The right buffer comes from this property's actual outgoings and its realistic vacancy and repair risk.
Why this matters
The buffer is what turns a bad quarter into an inconvenience instead of a forced sale. A buffer sized to someone else's property — or to a round number — gives false comfort in both directions.
What to check
- Monthly mortgage repayment
- Council rates and water
- Insurance premiums
- Body corporate levies, if applicable
- A realistic annual maintenance allowance for the property's age
- Vacancy risk in your market — how many weeks could a re-let take?
- One unexpected repairA hot water system or similar: what would it cost tomorrow?
Who can help
Property manager
Realistic vacancy periods and re-letting costs in your market.
TAKE ACTION · WORKSHEET
15 minutes with your statements
View buffer worksheet
Build the number from the property's own costs.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
- Loan statement
- Rates, insurance and body corporate notices
- Last year's maintenance spend
USE AI TO HELP
Use AI to build a property-specific buffer from your actual costs instead of a generic number.
Best prompt for this issue
Using the ownership costs I provide, help me calculate a property-specific holding buffer. Include mortgage, rates, insurance, body corporate, management, maintenance and realistic vacancy risk. Show the assumptions rather than giving me one generic number.
Quick modes
WHAT TO PROVIDE
- monthly mortgage repayment
- rates, water, insurance, body corporate
- management fees
- last year's maintenance spend
- typical vacancy period in your market
ASK AI TO GIVE YOU
- a short summary of the situation
- the main issue
- missing information
- risks to investigate
- questions to ask
- the next three actions
Privacy: do not paste passwords, tax file numbers, bank account details or other sensitive personal information into an AI tool. If a document contains personal details it doesn't need, redact them before uploading.
What happens next
Compare the target against what you actually hold. If there's a gap, decide how to close it over time — and revisit the number whenever rates, rent or the property's condition change.
Important considerations
- This is general information, not personal financial or legal advice. Confirm specifics with your own adviser before acting.
THE HOLD QUESTION
Is your buffer a number you calculated, or a number you hoped?
NOT SURE WHAT TO ASK AI?
Ask a Better Property Question
Most people don't need more AI — they need to ask AI better questions. Type your question (or skip it) and copy a prompt that makes any AI tool ask you the right things first.
I am trying to understand this property issue. Before answering, identify any important information that is missing. Ask me only the questions that materially affect the answer. Once I respond, explain the issue in plain English, separate facts from assumptions, identify the main risks and give me the next three actions. Flag anything that should be confirmed with a qualified professional.
Privacy: do not paste passwords, tax file numbers, bank account details or other sensitive personal information into an AI tool. If a document contains personal details it doesn't need, redact them before uploading. This is a way to prepare — not financial, tax or legal advice.
Not sure what else to review?
Run the Annual HOLD CheckThe Kilroy Brief
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