So, as we've seen above, there's no right or wrong answer. Getting out of debt is always a good idea, and buying an investment property later in your mortgage is a strong option too.
It all depends on what you can handle. "The decision to invest in another property when you already have a home loan is a pretty big decision because you're taking on more debt," says Financial Spectrum managing director Brenton Tong. Probably the most important consideration of your financial position at the time is your cash flow.
"You can have an enormous amount of equity in your property and you could almost have your property paid off, but if you don't have the available cash flow to fund additional debt then you're going to be putting yourself in harm's way. If, on the other hand, your debt is quite high and your equity is quite small yet you still have an abundance of cash flow, then quite possibly you might be in a position where you can get into property investment much earlier than you think you can."
The bottom line: don't buy an investment property if you don't have the cash flow to cover the repayments and property maintenance. Obviously having a rent-paying tenant reduces the money required, but you need to anticipate higher costs, property damage and periods without a tenant.