you need good credit and a fairly hefty deposit. it would help if you do research to find the hottest areas. they say buy the crappest place in the best area. when you spend extra doing it up, the cost of the renovations should be less than the profit in value.
wife and i bought a tiny one bedroom shoebox of an apartment in university hall. you probably know the building, its the round heritage building cnr of parramatta and glebe point roads (right next to broadway and sydney uni). practically it is too small for us, but the rental income is solid.
find a good real estate agent to manage the place. we had a terrible one, had to chase the bastard down for rent. the tenants was fine, just the agent was dodgey. we sacked him, and have been managing the place on our own since then because during the drama, and some renovations we became friends with the tenants. we only have a "gentlemen agreement" to give each other notice if either side wants to vacate. i know it's risky, but we're comfortable doing this.
also be cautious of strata properties (like units, flats, townhouses). Strata costs can really take as big stab into your income. It's really killer unless you got all your negative gearing tax benefits sorted. the three bedder next door to the 2 bedder we rent and live in has an annual strata fee of about $15K! Our shoebox is about $2.5K.
good luck, mate.
