USB247 Money and Property Assignment 1 Brief 2025/26 | QUT

Introduction

Access to debt funding is an important component in any property investment decision.  The ability of a purchaser to borrow money and service that debt (i.e. make repayments) is a key determinant in what type, price and location of property can be purchased.

This  assignment  is  designed  to  develop  your  knowledge  of  the  Australian  banking  sector’s requirements  in  relation  to  securing  a  debt  facility.  This  assignment  is  focused  on  the  residential sector,  however  the  majority  of  the  lending  principles  also  apply  to  the commercial/investment sector  and  you  should  extend  your  thinking  accordingly.

Specifically,  this  assignment is designed to develop and assess learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3 for this unit:  

1. Identify the sources and characteristics of equity and debt finance for income producing property. 
2. Recognise and apply the use of different loan structures and security instruments in relation to a range of property assets.
3. Critically analyse the potential risks and returns relating to direct and indirect, debt and equity funding in property investment opportunities. 
4. Examine the relationship between listed and unlisted property securities in the Australian capital markets and the property investment industry. 
5. Develop the ability to work independently and collaboratively, including managing time and prioritising activities, and being  a cooperative and  productive team  member or leader. 
6. Recognise  community  and  professional  responsibility,  including  the  effect  of  sustainable development,  business  ethics,  codes  of  practice,  cultural  and  historical  influences  on property industry activities. 

This assignment  comprises 25%  of  your  marks  for  this  unit. It is recommended that  you  read this brief  carefully  and  raise  any  questions  during  tutorial  time.  Additional  details  on  the report format, content  and  presentation  may  be  given  during  tutorials  and  placed  on  Canvas.  If  you  miss  a tutorial  it  is  your  responsibility  to  chase  up  any  assessment  information  that  may  have  been provided.  For further details on Assessment for this unit, please refer to the Week 1 Additional Unit Information handout on Canvas.

USB247 Assignment Details

Assignment Task

You  are  an  Australian  resident  and  have  recently  graduated  from  University  with  distinction; secured  a  good  job  and  now  you  wish  to purchase your first residential property. Your salary is $85,000  per  annum  (after  tax  and  superannuation)  and,  from  working  part-time  whilst  at  Uni  and living at home, you have saved $90,000 for a deposit.  You haven’t yet decided  whether  to  buy  a home to  live  in  or  an  investment property, and you need to run your numbers through an online home loan calculator to estimate the maximum price of property you can afford.

You  are  required  to  select  a  residential  property  that  is  currently  on  the  market  in Australia  (using realestate.com.au or domain.com.au)  and assess your ability to finance the acquisition and ownership of it i.e. Can you afford it? How will your purchase be structured? And if not, what is your plan to be able to afford it in the future? I.e. when and how?

You are required to prepare a REPORT which:

a) Provides  a  brief  overview  of  your  investment  strategy  and  objectives  (Why  you have  selected  this  house/unit,  how  it  fits  your  long/short  term  wealth creation/shelter  objectives); 
b) Identifies  and  discusses  all  the  key  factors  necessary  in  making  your  finance application  (Income,  Expenses,  Assets,  Liabilities,  loan  serviceability  etc); 
c) Calculate the total return on equity of your investment over the proposed holding period factoring in the impact of choices of debt structure and repayment methods; and 
d) Contains  a  printout  of  your  property  details  from  realestate.com.au  or domain.com.au included in your appendix. 

Your  report  will  include  analysis  of  all  the  information  required  in  the  financing  of  a  residential premise. It  will include  commentary  of  why  you  selected  which  property  as  well  as  an  analysis  of your  income  and  expenses that  may  affect  your  ability  to  obtain  sufficient  funding  to  acquire  your selected  property.  Your  report  will  take  into  consideration  all  factors  of  the  finance  application process,  including  income  and  expenses  associated  with  acquisition  and  ownership,  including  but not limited to:

You  will  prepare  and  append  a  return analysis  which  is  representative  of  your investment and financing  strategies  choices,  and  within  the  report  quantitatively  analyses  how  this  property meets your  investment  objectives  (or  not).  Annual  intervals  are  adequate,  all  key  assumptions  to  be justified.

Criteria Referenced Assessment (CRA)

The  assessment  criteria defined  in  each  assignment  (known  as  Criterion  Referenced  Assessment or  CRA)  reflect  the  unit  learning  outcomes  and  what  you  are  expected  to  learn  from  this  unit. These CRAs are  used to assess your work  against a  set of standards  (or  performance indicators) for each of the assessment criteria. 

The CRA for this assignment is attached to the rear of this document.  You will be marked against this  CRA.  It  is  recommended  you  prior  to  submitting  your  assignment  to  ensure  you  aware  how marks will be allocated.  You are therefore encouraged to familiarise yourself with it to assess your own  work  prior  to  submission  and  thus  develop  your  self-directed  learning  and  critical  thinking skills.  It  is  also  an  important  cross-checking  step  to  ensure  that  you  have  fulfilled  all  the requirements  of  the  assessment,  thus  ensuring  you  have  the  highest  possibility  of  obtaining maximum possible marks.

You DON'T need to include a copy of this CRA with your assignments for this unit.  Your  CRA  rubric  and  comments  will  be  listed  in  your  Canvas  assignment.  This  is  the  primary method of summative feedback for this item of assessment.

Writing Your Assignment:

Your  assignment  should  provide  a  fully  referenced  analysis  of  the  specified  Task.  Your assignment  should  employ  a  logical  and  coherent  structure  using  headings  to  delineate  the individual  components  of  your  work.  You  may  opt  to  include  figures,  graphs,  charts,  and  other diagrams in your  paper. While such components  are an efficient  way of  summarising information, it is important to refer to each table, chart or other diagram in the accompanying text to identify the significant points the item illustrates.

Your submitted assignment  should reference appropriate  literature  -  peer-reviewed journal articles, technical  texts,  government  reports,  and  other  professional-level  documents  where  appropriate. Please  do not  submit work based upon unreviewed  web-based sources such as Wikipedia.

Following  QUT  policy,  you  should  refer  to  QUT  Cite|Write  (www.citewrite.qut.edu.au)  as  a  first source  should  you  have  any  questions  about  what  constitutes  a  report,  how  to  appropriately credit/reference  others’  work,  or  for  general  advice  on  writing  style.  If  after  reviewing  the  QUT Cite|Write  website  you  still  need  advice  on  such  matters,  please  contact  the  HiQ or a member of the unit teaching staff.

Presentation  Guidelines 

Unless otherwise specified you should follow these guidelines for assignments submitted:  •  Include your name, student number and word count on the title page

• Minimum font size 10pt
• Minimum margin size 2.5cm
• Line spacing:  single is acceptable
• Inclusion of the CRA is not necessary

These guidelines are encouraged to present your report in a professional manner.  You will note from  the CRA that 5% of the total marks are allocated for report formatting and presentation.