I guess there may not be any real estate experts from Australia on here... in case there are, does anyone know of any recent articles about investing in property in Australia at this time? So far I've only found this which isn't all that helpful:

afr.com - The Australian Financial Review

Long term all land and property investments are normally good, Even with the current lows in many places, everyone knows it will at some point start back up.

But to invest in property, you need to know the area, investigate and invest well informed.

Thanks for that, Fr_Chuck.

What sort of expert would I need to talk with to work through all my options, do you happen to know?

Trust is an issue, for example how long term an investment, where are you at. I would never believe in investments you don't personaly go investigate and look at.

Are you wanting to personaly invest directly into property, or though an investment group that will make the chocies.

Also what dollar level investments will make a large difference,

I would travel to the area you are interested in, personaly interview several representitives to choose.

I have several options:

I currently have a mortgage of AUD$238,000 and debts of $15,000. I'm told this is very modest. My bank is willing to personally loan me up to $325,000.

I really can't afford to continue paying my mortgage on my own for much longer.

My partner would like us to purchase a piece of land and owner build in the new year. He wants me to keep my home, rent it out and live with him until our home is built towards the end of next year.

He has built his own home before, and has been looking at land over the years, so knows what he's looking at and what's involved. We looked at a piece of land on the weekend that I fell in love with and he knows is good value. He would also like to build a second two bedroom home on the 10 acres to rent out.

He already owns one investment property, is wanting to build together and buy another investment property over the coming months. The only thing in joint names would be my percentage share of the property we buy.
Jointly, we would have debts over $1.7million and assets of $2.4million. My share of the house we intend to build would be around 20%

My home and his properties would be used as security to purchase the property we're interested in... we would be looking at borrowing around $700,000.

My partner wants me to be absolutely sure I know what's going on and that I feel confident about it. Because there would be risks and he wants to reassure me, he wants us to see a solicitor to draw up an agreement beforehand where it's stated that if in the case of bankruptcy (or I guess, impending bankruptcy), my home would be secured first.

The financial benefits could be enormous and I could possibly own my home outright within seven years if managed well. My partner's aim is that we would retire comfortably and our children be well looked after. These are big figures though, and I'm use to be very conservative with money.

However, that being the case, my other options include:

1. sell my home and repurchase something around $330,000 to reduce my mortgage and be debt free. This would ensure I could always afford my mortgage. However, I'm told it would cost me around $30,000 to do that and isn't the smartest thing I could do.

2. keep my home and rent it out. Rental income would cover my mortgage. Live with my mum lol!

3. sell my home and purchase a house to the value of around $480,000... something with a flat attached that can be rented out. I saw a house like this online the other day that given the rental income, would make my mortgage much cheaper than it is now.

There are probably other options I haven't thought about...

Behind these decisions are how they effect our children... so timing and the ultimate decision will depend a lot on them.

Good advice would be appreciated. Thanks very much.

Sorry, I should have said that my share of the mortgage repayments on the home my partner and I would build would be around 20% which is very affordable for me, and generous of my partner to make that offer. We haven't yet worked out what my share of the ownership of the house would be.

I found where I can get some property investment advice that's relevant to the Australian market, so I should be fine with this now.

Thanks for helping me get my thoughts sorted though :)