Your property is costing you $1,000 a month. Where is the money going?
Keep the property through difficult periods.
Best for: Owners who feel the property costs more than it should
A property that costs $1,000 a month to hold feels like one big problem. Broken into its lines — interest, rates, insurance, management, maintenance, rent coming in — it's usually one or two big levers and a lot of small ones.
Why this matters
Owners often attack the wrong cost first because they've never seen the breakdown. When the whole picture is on one page, the largest lever is usually obvious — and it's the only one worth starting with.
What to check
- Loan interest per month
- Council rates and water
- Insurance
- Body corporate levies, if applicable
- Property management fees
- Maintenance (use last year's actual spend ÷ 12)
- Any utilities or services paid by you as the owner
- Other recurring costs still billing the property
- Rent received per month
- Tax effectsIdentify separately with your accountant — don't mix them into the cash lines.
Who can help
Property manager
A full statement of income and outgoings for the last 12 months.
Accountant
The tax position, kept separate from the monthly cash picture.
TAKE ACTION · WORKSHEET
20 minutes with your statements
View breakdown worksheet
Build the one-page breakdown.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
- 12-month property manager statement
- Loan statement
- Rates, insurance and body corporate notices
USE AI TO HELP
Use AI to break the monthly shortfall into its lines and find the lever actually worth pulling.
Best prompt for this issue
Break my investment property's cash flow into income and expenses using the numbers I provide. Rank the expense lines from largest to smallest, identify the one or two most worth reviewing, and flag anything that looks unusual for a property like mine. Keep tax effects separate — my accountant handles those.
Quick modes
WHAT TO PROVIDE
- weekly rent
- loan balance, rate and repayment
- rates, insurance, management fees
- body corporate levies
- last year's maintenance
- vacancy history
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
Take the largest line to the relevant HOLD Tip: interest → fixed rate and offset tips; rent → the market rent tip; insurance → the cover-match tip; recurring costs → the standing charges tip. One lever at a time.
Important considerations
- This is general information, not personal financial or legal advice. Confirm specifics with your own adviser before acting.
THE HOLD QUESTION
Which single line item is costing you the most — and when did you last try to move it?
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 CheckRelated HOLD Tips
The Kilroy Brief
Independent commentary on Australian housing, property, construction, taxation and investment, delivered directly to your inbox.