Let’s be real: buying property with family is one of the most common ways Aussies actually get into the market. A parent chips in for the deposit. Siblings pool their savings. An adult child buys with mum and dad for the long haul. It’s the move that turns an out-of-reach purchase into a done deal.
But here’s the catch. The same arrangement that makes the purchase possible is often the one that unravels fastest, and it usually falls apart for one reason: nobody agreed on the ownership, the money and the exit in writing before they signed.
In Season 2, Episode 1 of Not Another Property Podcast, Titlespace Founder Daniella Muzitano sits down with mortgage manager Michael O’Malley, investment advisor Gianni Musumeci and financial planner Andrew Chan to unpack what actually goes wrong when families buy together, and the practical steps that keep everyone’s contribution safe. Here are the key takeaways.
In this episode
- The single biggest mistake families make, and why “we trust each other” isn’t a plan
- Documenting ownership shares, exit scenarios, death and job loss before settlement
- Protecting a parent’s gifted deposit with a caveat on title
- Family guarantee vs co-buying: which one carries less risk, and why
- Choosing an ownership structure: individuals, discretionary trust, unit trust or company
- Treating a family purchase as a long-term relationship, not a one-off transaction
Key takeaways from the episode
1. The biggest mistake? Assuming the relationship is “safe”
Daniella’s core message is blunt: skipping the paperwork because it’s family is exactly where buying property with family goes wrong.
Agree it up front. Who owns what percentage? What happens if someone wants out? What happens on death? What happens if someone loses their job? Plan for the entry and the exit, not just the exciting part. If you’re not sure what’s actually involved, our guide on what a conveyancer actually does is a solid place to start.
2. If parents gift a deposit, protect that money
When parents help with a deposit, Daniella recommends preparing proper loan documentation and, where it fits, lodging a caveat on title so the contribution is protected.
Here’s a real example from the episode. A couple bought with help from parents who’d sold a property to contribute, but couldn’t go on the mortgage because of their age. The fix wasn’t a handshake. The arrangement was documented, and the parents’ contribution was secured with a caveat on the title. That’s squarely conveyancing territory, so if a property transfer between family members is part of your plan, get it structured properly from day one.
3. A family guarantee can be less risky than co-buying
Mortgage manager Michael O’Malley lays out the difference cleanly.
With co-buying, everyone is on the loan and on the title, jointly and severally liable. In plain English: if one person can’t pay their share, the others have to cover it.
With a family guarantee (also called a family pledge), parents don’t tip in cash and aren’t on the loan. The lender just takes security over a slice of their equity, which gets released once you’ve built up enough equity of your own. It isn’t risk-free, but it keeps things a lot simpler. Worth noting: a family guarantee is a lender product, and it’s a different thing altogether from any government first-home scheme.
4. Choose your ownership structure on purpose
Owning as individuals, through a discretionary trust, a unit trust or a company each carries different legal consequences, and different family situations call for different structures.
If you’re owning as individuals, the choice between joint tenants vs tenants in common matters enormously for how each person’s share is protected. Michael adds a practical note: lenders will generally accept discretionary and family trusts, but they get twitchy about complex or hybrid trust structures.
5. Treat it as a long-term relationship, not just a purchase
Financial planner Andrew Chan reframes the whole thing. A family purchase isn’t a one-off transaction, it’s a long-term relationship.
So document the contribution. Agree in advance how you’ll settle disputes (like a renovation everyone wants but no one wants to pay for). Build in good-leaver and bad-leaver terms, and revisit the arrangement at each life stage. Done well, it protects the asset and the family bond at the same time.
Getting the legal side right
Titlespace handles the conveyancing side of buying property with family: the documentation, the title protection and the ownership structuring that keeps everyone’s contribution safe. We’re licensed conveyancers across NSW, VIC, QLD, SA and ACT.
If you’re buying a property with family, you can get a conveyancing quote or book a session and we’ll talk through your situation. Buying your first place? Our rundown of the common mistakes first home buyers make and the latest NSW stamp duty changes are worth a read too.
Meet the Experts
All guests are trusted professionals with verified experience in the Australian property sector.
Daniella Muzitano – Executive Director & Co-Founder, Titlespace – Australian Conveyancing Law Firm specialising in property transactions across NSW, VIC, QLD, SA and the ACT.
Gianni Musumeci – Investment property advisor and founder of Leverage Property Advisers, with expertise in property investment strategy.
Michael O’Malley – Mortgage broker, lending strategist, and General Manager of Rate Money Sydney City.
Andrew Chan – Certified Financial Planner and founder of Phoenix Private Wealth Management.
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More from Not Another Property Podcast
The content of this blog post is intended as general information and should be considered broad guidance only. It does not constitute legal, financial, or credit advice and should not be relied upon as such. Titlespace provides conveyancing services in NSW, VIC, QLD, SA and the ACT; we are not mortgage brokers or financial planners. Every situation is different, so please seek personalised advice from a qualified professional before making any legal or financial decisions.
0:00 Intro: why buying property with family is on the rise
1:00 The biggest mistake: assuming the relationship is "safe"
1:24 Get it in writing: ownership %, exit, death and job loss
1:57 Protecting a parent's gifted deposit with a caveat on title
3:19 Family guarantee vs co-buying: which is less risky
4:02 Co-buying explained: joint and several liability
4:23 What a family guarantee actually is, in plain English
5:42 Treat it as a long-term relationship: contribution and leave terms
8:11 Generational wealth and estate-planning conversations
9:57 Intergenerational living: the legal angle
12:50 Real case: parents contribute but can't go on the mortgage
13:22 Ownership structures and what lenders accept (trusts vs companies)
14:23 Buying in a trust (teaser) and wrap-up
📄 Read the Transcript
[00:00:06,640 → 00:00:07,710] Welcome back everybody.
[00:00:07,720 → 00:00:10,560] We have taken a bit of break between drinks.
[00:00:10,560 → 00:00:13,160] It's been a while since our last episode, but I want to thank our
[00:00:13,160 → 00:00:16,600] Property Power team for joining me on Not Another Property podcast.
[00:00:16,600 → 00:00:19,840] So just before we get into today's episode, I want to provide just a
[00:00:19,840 → 00:00:20,960] brief disclaimer.
[00:00:21,000 → 00:00:25,040] Nothing that is being discussed today is specific personal advice.
[00:00:25,040 → 00:00:27,600] It's all very general and factual in nature.
[00:00:27,600 → 00:00:32,400] If you are looking for any specific advice pertaining to your personal situation, please
[00:00:32,400 → 00:00:36,360] do not hesitate to reach out to any of these financial and legal service
[00:00:36,360 → 00:00:37,150] professionals.
[00:00:37,160 → 00:00:43,760] Today I'm joined by Daniella Muzitano from Titlespace Conveyancing mortgage manager Michael O'Malley
[00:00:43,800 → 00:00:49,600] from Rate Money Sydney CBD, and I'm joined by Andrew Chan from Phoenix Wealth
[00:00:49,600 → 00:00:50,120] Management.
[00:00:50,120 → 00:00:51,400] Thank you for joining me, guys.
[00:00:51,400 → 00:00:53,040] I wanted to start with Daniella.
[00:00:53,040 → 00:00:55,800] We're talking today a little bit about buying with a family, whether it's a
[00:00:55,800 → 00:01:00,240] shortcut to getting into the market or whether it's an absolute legal mess waiting
[00:01:00,280 → 00:01:00,720] to happen.
[00:01:00,720 → 00:01:05,160] So Daniella, for me, I wanted to understand what are the biggest legal mistakes
[00:01:05,160 → 00:01:09,600] that families make when they buy together, and they seem it'll just work out
[00:01:09,600 → 00:01:10,480] afterwards?
[00:01:10,880 → 00:01:15,920] Well, I guess the biggest mistake is to assume the relationship itself is safe.
[00:01:15,960 → 00:01:18,120] We don't know what's going to happen.
[00:01:18,400 → 00:01:24,080] It is important to have documents in place to protect the transaction.
[00:01:24,080 → 00:01:30,000] So for example, from the start, you need to know the percentage of ownership,
[00:01:30,000 → 00:01:32,600] how much you know each person.
[00:01:32,760 → 00:01:34,400] It's you know,
[00:01:35,120 → 00:01:36,760] own of the property.
[00:01:36,960 → 00:01:42,520] You need to understand what's going to happen if one person wants out, what's
[00:01:42,520 → 00:01:48,320] going to happen if one person passes away or if one is out of
[00:01:48,320 → 00:01:48,920] a job.
[00:01:48,930 → 00:01:54,480] So it is important to have documents in place to cover all of that.
[00:01:54,480 → 00:01:57,680] And the mistake is not preparing for that.
[00:01:57,760 → 00:02:03,840] Another thing that we see often is parents giving the money to children, and
[00:02:03,840 → 00:02:08,240] a certain point a day they go into the factor relationship and what's going
[00:02:08,240 → 00:02:13,720] to happen once the couple splits up so often, what do we do?
[00:02:13,760 → 00:02:19,520] We prepare mortgage documents and large caveats on title of the property to protect
[00:02:19,520 → 00:02:21,680] that deposit paid by the parents.
[00:02:21,760 → 00:02:25,840] And I'm sure there's a number of different dynamics as well between whether it's
[00:02:25,840 → 00:02:30,640] two siblings or whether it's a parent helping out their children, or even children
[00:02:30,640 → 00:02:35,720] helping out their parents to purchase a home for their retirement or something along
[00:02:35,720 → 00:02:36,440] those lines.
[00:02:36,440 → 00:02:40,920] And I feel it's important to understand from a legal perspective not only how
[00:02:40,920 → 00:02:45,320] you enter into the property, but the scenarios of exiting that property as well.
[00:02:45,360 → 00:02:48,840] What are some of the questions that you have to ask when you're going
[00:02:48,840 → 00:02:50,680] through these cases with with clients?
[00:02:50,720 → 00:02:57,440] Well, it's to find out exactly what they want, what they want to happen.
[00:02:57,440 → 00:03:01,880] If one of the scenarios I mentioned before happened, so if somebody passed away
[00:03:01,920 → 00:03:06,520] or, you know, if there's a split up in a relationship and based on
[00:03:06,640 → 00:03:11,800] those assets, we can prepare the, you know, the applicable documents and then lodge
[00:03:11,800 → 00:03:13,800] protections on title accordingly.
[00:03:13,840 → 00:03:14,040] Yeah.
[00:03:14,080 → 00:03:17,920] And just get an understanding of how to protect yourself and what happens in
[00:03:17,920 → 00:03:18,960] those worst cases as well.
[00:03:19,000 → 00:03:19,360] Yeah.
[00:03:19,400 → 00:03:22,880] And maybe we talked a little bit about mortgage documents, but I wanted to
[00:03:22,920 → 00:03:27,920] ask you what is the difference between maybe using a family guarantee and actually
[00:03:27,920 → 00:03:29,320] buying a property together.
[00:03:29,360 → 00:03:33,960] Is that is which one is normally creates less risk, or are there pros
[00:03:33,960 → 00:03:35,680] and cons to one way over the other?
[00:03:35,720 → 00:03:36,400] Yeah.
[00:03:36,400 → 00:03:39,440] If you want to cut straight to the headline for my money, a parental
[00:03:39,440 → 00:03:45,040] guarantee, your Family Pledge loan is always inherently less risky and easier in
[00:03:45,080 → 00:03:45,760] that situation.
[00:03:45,760 → 00:03:49,120] Basically, you've got parents or siblings saying, I'm going to lend you some equity
[00:03:49,120 → 00:03:53,080] in my property, and you can release that guarantee when you've got sufficient equity
[00:03:53,080 → 00:03:53,760] in yours.
[00:03:53,800 → 00:03:55,320] And there are two factors at play.
[00:03:55,320 → 00:03:59,640] Helping that along your property is generally increasing in value, and you're paying down
[00:03:59,640 → 00:04:00,200] the loan.
[00:04:00,200 → 00:04:02,080] So you're building equity all the time.
[00:04:02,320 → 00:04:07,560] If you're in a co buying situation, everyone's on the loan, everyone's on title.
[00:04:07,560 → 00:04:10,640] Everyone's making joint decisions about what happens with the property.
[00:04:10,800 → 00:04:12,720] Everyone's jointly and severally liable.
[00:04:12,720 → 00:04:15,440] So if someone can't pay, the others have to pick up the slack.
[00:04:15,480 → 00:04:20,320] So a parental guarantee or family pledges is a much less risky and a
[00:04:20,320 → 00:04:23,480] lot safer way of going about acquiring a property, I think.
[00:04:23,520 → 00:04:27,160] And maybe just to wind back a little bit, if we could explain in
[00:04:27,160 → 00:04:31,120] layman's terms, essentially what is a family guarantee and how does it operate?
[00:04:31,160 → 00:04:31,320] Yeah.
[00:04:31,480 → 00:04:33,800] What you're doing is, is
[00:04:34,840 → 00:04:37,480] use parents and children as an example.
[00:04:37,480 → 00:04:41,400] The parents are saying, I'm going to let the bank take security over a
[00:04:41,400 → 00:04:45,200] certain proportion of equity or the value of my property, but they're not actually
[00:04:45,200 → 00:04:46,320] contributing any money.
[00:04:46,320 → 00:04:47,990] They're not on the loan.
[00:04:48,000 → 00:04:50,960] All they're doing is letting the kids tap into that equity.
[00:04:50,960 → 00:04:55,360] And and then later on, as I say, when the, when the purchase property
[00:04:55,360 → 00:04:58,650] increases in value and you get back down to the right sort of LVO
[00:04:58,650 → 00:05:02,240] or ratio of the loan, you can release the guarantee and it's not without
[00:05:02,240 → 00:05:02,800] risk.
[00:05:02,840 → 00:05:05,840] You know what happens if the parents want to sell their home, for example?
[00:05:05,840 → 00:05:10,880] So it's not it's not a 100% bulletproof solution, but I think it's a
[00:05:10,880 → 00:05:11,600] lot less.
[00:05:11,600 → 00:05:14,440] There are a lot less pitfalls in that approach than there are in
[00:05:14,440 → 00:05:15,560] buying a property together.
[00:05:15,600 → 00:05:16,470] Yeah, understandable.
[00:05:16,480 → 00:05:19,480] So if we put it into a scenario, maybe if we had sort of
[00:05:19,520 → 00:05:25,760] adult adult parents who used their home to guarantee that the kids can purchase
[00:05:25,760 → 00:05:30,200] their home, essentially that property would then be put up as security, and then
[00:05:30,200 → 00:05:34,120] the kids would be able to purchase that property one day down the track.
[00:05:34,120 → 00:05:37,880] If that property were to go up in value, they could remove the parents
[00:05:37,880 → 00:05:38,230] property or.
[00:05:38,240 → 00:05:40,920] Security, release the guarantee and everyone plays on on their own.
[00:05:40,960 → 00:05:41,280] Okay.
[00:05:41,320 → 00:05:41,560] No.
[00:05:42,480 → 00:05:43,760] Maybe more for you, Andrew.
[00:05:43,800 → 00:05:48,760] How should families think about how they contribute if there is an imbalance
[00:05:48,760 → 00:05:54,240] control between imbalance between kids and how should they plan their exit before committing
[00:05:54,280 → 00:05:55,080] to buying?
[00:05:55,120 → 00:05:55,360] Yeah.
[00:05:55,400 → 00:05:55,960] Good question.
[00:05:55,960 → 00:06:01,560] I think it starts with a lot of families approach this as a purchase
[00:06:01,600 → 00:06:03,920] when really it's a long term business relationship.
[00:06:03,920 → 00:06:06,120] So your parents have their own objectives.
[00:06:06,120 → 00:06:07,080] They want to help their children.
[00:06:07,080 → 00:06:08,320] It's very altruistic.
[00:06:08,320 → 00:06:10,840] And the children are children, so they need help.
[00:06:10,840 → 00:06:12,400] But children variably grow up.
[00:06:12,440 → 00:06:13,840] They have their their individuals.
[00:06:13,840 → 00:06:16,520] They have their own goals once needs and life changes.
[00:06:16,520 → 00:06:16,720] Right.
[00:06:16,760 → 00:06:18,920] So Danny mentioned that someone might pass away.
[00:06:18,960 → 00:06:23,280] So we'll talk about exit because because you shouldn't be getting into any transaction
[00:06:23,320 → 00:06:26,000] unless you know how you're going to get out of it purely from an
[00:06:26,000 → 00:06:27,000] investment standpoint.
[00:06:27,080 → 00:06:32,360] And so whether it's a sale buyer or life change, smart families get the
[00:06:32,360 → 00:06:33,680] documentation right.
[00:06:33,720 → 00:06:37,720] Talk about this very early on in terms of contribution.
[00:06:37,760 → 00:06:42,160] It's very important to document contribution because we all have different personalities.
[00:06:42,160 → 00:06:45,240] You got you got the child that will do everything right.
[00:06:45,360 → 00:06:46,500] Save save save pay.
[00:06:46,800 → 00:06:48,160] Pay everything down quickly.
[00:06:48,200 → 00:06:51,440] You've got the child who loves to go out, have party, enjoy life, who
[00:06:51,440 → 00:06:57,040] doesn't, and and often you as parents, you you want to treat them
[00:06:57,040 → 00:06:57,360] equally.
[00:06:57,360 → 00:07:01,280] But if you're a party to this transaction, you want to save the discussion
[00:07:01,280 → 00:07:06,120] point between I have you want it to be I've contributed this much and
[00:07:06,120 → 00:07:10,720] be able to prove it, rather than we're both entitled to the proceeds equally.
[00:07:10,760 → 00:07:13,440] And so that's in terms of contribution.
[00:07:13,440 → 00:07:14,920] Documentation is king.
[00:07:15,320 → 00:07:16,280] Full control.
[00:07:16,320 → 00:07:17,880] Control is very important.
[00:07:17,880 → 00:07:23,760] So again documentation dictates control because what happens when one person wants to renovate
[00:07:23,760 → 00:07:24,960] another dozen.
[00:07:25,000 → 00:07:28,360] What happens when you're up keeping this property and the relationships working well.
[00:07:28,370 → 00:07:31,720] But someone needs to exit out of that property and they want to sell,
[00:07:31,720 → 00:07:33,280] but the other one wants to hold.
[00:07:33,280 → 00:07:35,280] So we have different life changes.
[00:07:35,280 → 00:07:39,040] If you don't have the right good lever badly for clauses in your documentation,
[00:07:39,040 → 00:07:43,200] you'll be left with a very illiquid asset, which makes it very difficult for
[00:07:43,200 → 00:07:43,720] the family.
[00:07:43,760 → 00:07:48,200] And I suppose that's where the work that each of you do together is
[00:07:48,200 → 00:07:52,360] very important, because as a financial planner, I often say that financial planners will
[00:07:52,360 → 00:07:56,640] sit on the balcony overlooking the dance floor, seeing how the individual players interact
[00:07:56,640 → 00:08:00,560] with each other and you're coordinating that, you know, this is how control should
[00:08:00,560 → 00:08:02,240] look amongst the broader family.
[00:08:02,240 → 00:08:05,720] So if I'm helping out one child, then the other child might not be
[00:08:05,720 → 00:08:07,840] disadvantaged or for whatever reason.
[00:08:07,880 → 00:08:11,640] How is that broader conversation with those those family sets?
[00:08:11,640 → 00:08:13,160] How is that brought up conversation?
[00:08:13,200 → 00:08:17,640] Yeah, it's funny you say that we've done renovations in the boardroom.
[00:08:17,640 → 00:08:21,400] It's naturally because generational wealth planning is now the thing.
[00:08:21,440 → 00:08:21,680] Right?
[00:08:21,720 → 00:08:26,320] And so it's all about getting them in, in the very beginning, having those
[00:08:26,320 → 00:08:30,600] conversations dictating this is what we're going to do for you, but this is
[00:08:30,600 → 00:08:31,560] how you're going to behave.
[00:08:31,560 → 00:08:33,000] And do you agree with that.
[00:08:33,000 → 00:08:37,480] And so and in that process, once they've got agreement and they realize they
[00:08:37,480 → 00:08:41,920] are the guardrails in which for this transaction, then when it comes time, it's
[00:08:41,920 → 00:08:46,080] not something that figuring out or have they're open to their own interpretation.
[00:08:46,440 → 00:08:47,400] Yeah, 100%.
[00:08:47,440 → 00:08:52,640] And I find that, you know, when you have those dynamics between multiple generations
[00:08:52,640 → 00:08:56,840] and even multiple parties within a transaction, it's hard to it's hard to get
[00:08:56,840 → 00:08:59,360] an understanding of what everybody's expectations are.
[00:08:59,400 → 00:09:03,720] Or often they may have conflicting expectations, because realistically, a lot of people have
[00:09:03,720 → 00:09:05,880] been out of the market for a while.
[00:09:05,880 → 00:09:09,360] So I see it a lot in parents helping out younger children.
[00:09:09,520 → 00:09:14,500] Realistically, as a parent, you know, you might be in your, say, 50
[00:09:14,500 → 00:09:15,280] or 60 years.
[00:09:15,280 → 00:09:17,000] You haven't purchased property in a while.
[00:09:17,000 → 00:09:20,150] And more often than not, I find that people really only transact 2 or
[00:09:20,150 → 00:09:21,240] 3 properties in their lifetime.
[00:09:21,240 → 00:09:23,840] They buy a first home, they'll buy a family home.
[00:09:23,840 → 00:09:26,440] They may have either an investment property or family home.
[00:09:26,440 → 00:09:29,920] So they don't have a great breadth of experience in terms of what expectations
[00:09:29,920 → 00:09:33,400] to set in terms of what does that property purchase look like and even
[00:09:33,400 → 00:09:34,720] the purpose of that property.
[00:09:34,760 → 00:09:39,520] So a lot of the younger generation nowadays, they'll they'll buy their first home
[00:09:39,520 → 00:09:42,400] and they'll use it as a stepping stone to get into their next home.
[00:09:42,440 → 00:09:46,160] Often it's because they want to use first time buyer guarantee or low deposits
[00:09:46,160 → 00:09:47,480] game or something along those lines.
[00:09:47,480 → 00:09:51,790] So we're finding that the kids have ulterior motives for the parents.
[00:09:51,800 → 00:09:54,400] The parents want it to be a good investment to help them step into
[00:09:54,400 → 00:09:55,360] the next property.
[00:09:55,360 → 00:09:57,920] The kids just want to get out of the house sometimes.
[00:09:57,960 → 00:10:00,600] And then we're also seeing the rise of intergenerational living.
[00:10:00,600 → 00:10:04,440] So that might be more of a question for you than have you any
[00:10:04,440 → 00:10:10,400] case studies around those scenarios where because we're seeing the rise of intergenerational accommodation
[00:10:10,400 → 00:10:15,120] and residential property, how does that sit in terms of a legal perspective?
[00:10:15,120 → 00:10:17,240] How do people navigate those waters?
[00:10:18,880 → 00:10:22,240] I've seen a few from especially for some
[00:10:22,880 → 00:10:24,640] like ethnic groups.
[00:10:25,330 → 00:10:29,320] Normally there's
[00:10:30,520 → 00:10:36,240] the kids will go on to the title and they would just take the
[00:10:36,240 → 00:10:37,560] parents to live on them.
[00:10:37,560 → 00:10:41,640] But there's no I mean, if there is contribution on the day to day
[00:10:41,640 → 00:10:47,600] living may be the case, but mostly we see the, the, the couple,
[00:10:47,640 → 00:10:51,800] you know, the daughter and the son in law taking on the lawn, buying
[00:10:51,800 → 00:10:54,920] the property in their name and just having the parents living with them.
[00:10:54,920 → 00:10:59,600] And then the conversation is like, potentially there could be the parents, you might
[00:10:59,600 → 00:11:03,200] have one of the children living with them and grandchildren, and then there might
[00:11:03,200 → 00:11:06,200] be some other siblings that don't reside in that intergenerational home.
[00:11:06,200 → 00:11:09,440] How is that conversation in terms of, you know, this is what the estate's
[00:11:09,480 → 00:11:11,360] going to look like, or this is how we're going to
[00:11:12,200 → 00:11:15,560] divest assets in the event of, you know, when you pass away.
[00:11:15,600 → 00:11:16,040] How is that?
[00:11:16,960 → 00:11:21,600] It's it's important conversation, because it's not just that you have
[00:11:22,680 → 00:11:25,440] children always have different abilities or different ambitions.
[00:11:25,440 → 00:11:30,280] So one one might be if you're in a transaction very, very capable and
[00:11:30,320 → 00:11:33,920] is as that first stage is that first step property and they're ready to
[00:11:33,920 → 00:11:34,440] go again.
[00:11:34,440 → 00:11:34,720] Right.
[00:11:34,760 → 00:11:37,320] And so they might want to move to a better area.
[00:11:37,440 → 00:11:38,960] They can do it purely on their income.
[00:11:38,960 → 00:11:39,800] You have another child.
[00:11:39,800 → 00:11:42,680] The second child who's who probably needs a bit of help to sell that
[00:11:42,680 → 00:11:44,280] property to then have enough to do it.
[00:11:44,280 → 00:11:47,240] And you've got the child that never leaves home, but that child takes care
[00:11:47,240 → 00:11:48,200] of mum and dad, right?
[00:11:48,240 → 00:11:48,920] And so
[00:11:49,760 → 00:11:55,080] you have so many contributions financial, their own ability versus taking care of the
[00:11:55,080 → 00:11:55,720] family.
[00:11:55,760 → 00:11:59,880] We, we by having those conversations early on, you can value those.
[00:11:59,880 → 00:12:03,880] But the thing is, is that when they're so young and you're making these
[00:12:03,880 → 00:12:06,920] decisions, you can't possibly know what they are.
[00:12:06,960 → 00:12:11,800] So that's why the financial planning aspect is so important to say, hey, as
[00:12:11,800 → 00:12:16,520] we get to each loved by stage, let's come in, let's discuss, let's reset.
[00:12:16,760 → 00:12:20,960] Let's make sure that what you're talking about is the state planning, that it
[00:12:20,960 → 00:12:24,160] is not something left to a decision where mum and dad aren't in the
[00:12:24,160 → 00:12:24,760] room or not.
[00:12:25,040 → 00:12:28,400] No longer mentally capable to make their decisions and give their influence.
[00:12:28,400 → 00:12:30,600] So you want to have those conversations?
[00:12:30,600 → 00:12:35,520] Because estate planning is about maintaining the bonds of family beyond you're helping not
[00:12:35,520 → 00:12:36,920] to make them wealthier.
[00:12:36,960 → 00:12:40,520] Hopefully you're helping them to make them wealthy and to stay together as a
[00:12:40,520 → 00:12:40,960] family.
[00:12:40,960 → 00:12:42,640] And so we have those decisions.
[00:12:42,640 → 00:12:44,480] We reset their minds in thinking.
[00:12:44,480 → 00:12:48,120] And sometimes if they don't agree, they're not party to that.
[00:12:48,120 → 00:12:50,280] And then we formalize that in documentation.
[00:12:50,320 → 00:12:52,480] And I'm sure that's all part of succession planning.
[00:12:52,480 → 00:12:53,720] I was going to ask something.
[00:12:53,720 → 00:12:57,400] We did have a case where the daughter and a son in law,
[00:12:57,440 → 00:13:01,600] they were buying a property and the parents sold her parents are sold the
[00:13:01,600 → 00:13:05,840] property to contribute towards the purchase and going to the mortgage, but they couldn't
[00:13:05,840 → 00:13:07,760] get into the mortgage because of age.
[00:13:08,240 → 00:13:10,800] I think you're all just reinforcing my fears and I'm never going to get
[00:13:10,800 → 00:13:11,480] my kids off the book.
[00:13:12,800 → 00:13:17,760] So we had to prepare some documents, obviously, and did the, you know, some
[00:13:17,800 → 00:13:21,560] sort of like protection on the title, but they couldn't be on a mortgage.
[00:13:21,800 → 00:13:22,520] I guess.
[00:13:22,560 → 00:13:26,320] Are there options where there's different entities that you could purchase in, and how
[00:13:26,320 → 00:13:31,240] does that factor into the mortgage, into the into the home loan process?
[00:13:31,280 → 00:13:31,720] There are.
[00:13:31,720 → 00:13:34,960] But again, I think that's probably more a Daniela question than me.
[00:13:35,000 → 00:13:39,200] I'm, you know, the structure or the entities are not really my concern.
[00:13:39,400 → 00:13:41,560] I'm more concerned about affordability.
[00:13:41,560 → 00:13:43,960] So yeah, there undoubtedly are.
[00:13:44,000 → 00:13:44,480] Yeah.
[00:13:44,480 → 00:13:47,360] But yes, that's not my area of expertise.
[00:13:47,360 → 00:13:48,880] That's where I rely on Danny.
[00:13:49,080 → 00:13:52,890] And I'm sure it works differently between a discretionary trust or a company and
[00:13:52,920 → 00:13:56,280] or a unit trust, the different legalities involved there.
[00:13:56,320 → 00:13:58,280] We don't do that normally.
[00:13:58,280 → 00:13:59,360] What do we do?
[00:13:59,480 → 00:14:02,920] Like if we want to put some sort of protection on title is by
[00:14:02,920 → 00:14:08,160] way of caving and doing so normally we prepare mortgage documents with the
[00:14:08,160 → 00:14:11,520] parties sign, they agree, and then we're able to lodge a cave on
[00:14:11,520 → 00:14:11,960] title.
[00:14:12,000 → 00:14:12,160] Yeah.
[00:14:12,200 → 00:14:12,680] Awesome.
[00:14:12,720 → 00:14:16,720] And there are restrictions around what types of trusts borrowers will entertain as
[00:14:16,720 → 00:14:17,200] well.
[00:14:17,240 → 00:14:19,200] Yeah discretionary and family generally fine.
[00:14:19,200 → 00:14:22,600] But if you get into hybrids and other sorts of more complex trust, they're
[00:14:22,600 → 00:14:23,680] not so keen to lend.
[00:14:23,760 → 00:14:26,680] I know we have that topic coming up around around buying in a trust,
[00:14:26,680 → 00:14:30,880] and it has been a hot topic lately, so I will save that for
[00:14:30,880 → 00:14:31,680] another episode.
[00:14:31,680 → 00:14:33,800] But what I want to do is I want to thank everybody for their
[00:14:33,800 → 00:14:35,000] contribution to this episode.
[00:14:35,000 → 00:14:38,080] I'm sure the audience has found it very insightful, so thank you very much
[00:14:38,080 → 00:14:39,100] for your time expertise.
FAQs that we get. A LOT.
What are the biggest legal mistakes when buying property with family?
The biggest one is assuming the relationship itself is safe. As Titlespace Founder Daniella Muzitano put it on the episode, none of us know what’s going to happen down the track. The fix is having the right documents in place from the start: who owns what percentage, and exactly what happens if someone wants out, passes away or loses their job. Skipping that paperwork is the mistake.
How can parents protect money they gift towards a child's property?
Gifting a deposit is common, but it needs protecting, especially if your child is buying with a partner. On the episode, Daniella explained that Titlespace typically prepares mortgage documents and lodges a caveat on the property’s title, so the parents’ contribution is protected if the couple later separates. Without that, a gifted deposit can be very hard to recover.
What is a family guarantee (or family pledge)?
It’s when parents or siblings let the bank take security over a portion of the equity in their own property, without putting in any cash or going on the loan. Mortgage manager Michael O’Malley described it on the episode: the kids tap into that equity to buy, and the guarantee can be released once their property grows in value and the loan-to-value ratio improves.
Is a family guarantee less risky than buying a property together?
Generally, yes. Michael’s view on the episode was that a parental guarantee or family pledge is inherently less risky and has fewer pitfalls than co-buying. It isn’t completely without risk (for example, if the parents later want to sell their own home), but it keeps everyone’s finances more separate than being jointly on a loan and title.
What does jointly and severally liable mean when you co-buy?
When you co-buy, everyone is on the loan and on the title, and everyone is jointly and severally liable. In plain terms, if one person can’t make their share of the repayments, the others have to cover it. That shared exposure is a big reason the panel leaned towards guarantees over co-buying where it’s an option.
Should we document how much each person contributes?
Absolutely. Financial planner Andrew Chan’s advice on the episode was to treat family property as a long-term business relationship, not just a purchase. Document contributions early, agree on control (who decides on selling, renovating or holding), and build in good-leaver and bad-leaver terms so no one is left stuck with an illiquid asset when life changes.
Can you buy through a trust or company, and will lenders accept it?
You can, and the right structure is a legal question worth getting advice on. On the finance side, Michael noted that discretionary and family trusts are generally fine with lenders, but hybrids and more complex trusts are harder to borrow against. The panel flagged buying in a trust as a big topic in its own right, coming in a future episode.
What if older parents want to help but can't go on the mortgage?
It happens, often because of age and lending exit-strategy rules. Daniella shared a real case on the episode where parents sold a property to contribute to their daughter and son-in-law’s purchase but couldn’t go on the mortgage because of their age. The solution was to prepare documents and lodge protection on the title (a caveat), so their contribution was secured even though they weren’t on the loan.
Does buying with family affect estate and succession planning?
Yes. Andrew explained that these decisions tie directly into generational and estate planning. Different children have different abilities, needs and contributions, so the panel’s advice is to have those conversations early, revisit them at each life stage, and formalise the outcome in documentation, rather than leaving it to chance.
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