Sydney couple Mark and Alana recently bought their four-year-old daughter a one-bedroom property to set her up for the future. (Source: Supplied) <\/p>\n
A Sydney couple<\/a> have revealed why they decided to buy their four-year-old daughter a $1 million property rather than wait decades to give her an inheritance<\/a> down the track. While it\u2019s a unique example, property experts say more parents are helping their kids get onto the property ladder<\/a> as prices continue to skyrocket.<\/p>\n Northern Beaches couple Mark and Alana recently bought a one-bedroom apartment for their young daughter, Willoughby. The couple, who both work<\/a> in sales for cybersecurity firms, said they wanted to create a sort of \u201cinsurance\u201d policy for their daughter and try to set her up for the future now<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to try and do something now so that no matter what happens to me, there will be something for my daughter one day,\u201d Mark told Yahoo Finance.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/p>\n \u201cThink of it like buying insurance. You buy life insurance and all these other kinds of insurance<\/a>. This is like buying insurance for my daughter\u2019s future.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that this thing\u2019s going to be rented and paid for one day and so that security is what we needed for our daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n The home is in the new Willoughby Grounds development, which is set to be completed in August. The couple previously lived in Willoughby, with their daughter named after the lower North Shore suburb, so they took the apartment as a sign.<\/p>\n Do you have a story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com<\/p>\n Mark said he didn\u2019t grow up with a lot of money himself, and his parents did not help him buy his first property and would not give him an inheritance<\/a> when they passed.<\/p>\n The 45-year-old said this will be the main inheritance they pass down to their daughter. He said he would prefer to give her a financial leg when she needs it rather than waiting<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI hate the word inheritance. Waiting for someone to die is the old way of thinking,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s say I live until 80. What will my daughter want to do with money when she\u2019s already made her own life and everything?<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people might disagree, but I think [you should be] giving people the help when they need it, versus one rainy day when you pass away.\u201d<\/p>\n The couple is an example of a growing trend of parents who are stepping in to help their kids<\/a> enter a surging property market.<\/p>\n Mozo research<\/a> found parents were gifting $74,040 on average to their kids to help with home loan deposits. Three in four parents who help their kids don\u2019t expect to be repaid.<\/p>\n Story Continues <\/p>\n Australian Seniors research, meanwhile, found seven out of 10 parents over 50 intended to leave their children an early inheritance to help them get ahead.<\/p>\n Ray White Lower North Shore director Tim Abbott told Yahoo Finance while it wasn\u2019t the norm for parents to fully buy their young kids a property, many parents were helping their kids get a head start by contributing to their deposits<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf people are lucky enough that their families can assist them in getting into the property ladder<\/a>, it\u2019s certainly a benefit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cost of construction and the cost of property just keeps going up, so if they can secure something and they\u2019ve got the ability to secure something and get into the market, then it\u2019s going to pay off for them financially over the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n Abbott said some parents were keen to help their kids get into the market now, before things get more expensive.<\/p>\n \u201c[They want to] overcome a bit of that escalation in price, or just lock something in today\u2019s market with further growth getting more unaffordable as time goes on for the younger ones,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mark said the couple planned to rent out the property until Willoughby is older, with the apartment estimated to bring in $850 a week in rent.<\/p>\n She can then use the apartment as she sees fit, whether she wants to live in it, or sell it and use it to pay for university, a car or her first home deposit.<\/p>\n While the couple realised they are lucky to be in a position where they can buy a property for their daughter, the 45-year-old said it wasn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife and I have to find an extra $2,500 a month between us to cover the difference of the mortgage<\/a> and rent. That\u2019s not easy for any family,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s easier to us to make that sacrifice now, than it is in 16 years from now. Now\u2019s the time we can actually do things in our life to make more money versus then.\u201d<\/p>\n While their daughter will no doubt be extremely thankful for her parents’ decision in the future, for now, Mark said she has a typical four-year-old reaction to the news.<\/p>\n \u201cWe talked to her about these things, but does she remember it? Sometimes she just gets confused about what happened at daycare the day before,” he said.<\/p>\n “But her reaction is good, and then it fades very quickly.”<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n The apartment is in Willoughby, which is the suburb the couple named their daughter after. (Source: Supplied) <\/p>\n
Ray White’s Tim Abbott said he was seeing parents help their kids with deposits as property prices continued to increase. (Source: Supplied) <\/p>\n