You don’t often hear the words ‘bank’ and ‘love’ in the same sentence, but there’s one bank first home buyers can’t help but love.

That’s because the bank already knows them intimately, cares deeply about their financial future, and has a history of giving more than taking.

Don’t believe me? It’s also a bank they already know well, and probably trust more than any other bank in the world. In fact, they’re already a client whether they like it or not, because they’ve been tapping it for credit time and time again since the day they were born.

That’s right. I’m talking about the Bank of Mum and Dad.

Parents Pty Ltd
Parents obviously want to help their kids break into the property market if they can. Not just because they’re sick of them being at home well into their 20’s or 30’s, but because they see good money wasted on rent that could be put to better financial use in an owned property.

With high prices making it difficult for first homebuyers to get a foothold, it’s true they need all the help they can get. And it may just be that co-ownership – as opposed to a guarantor arrangement – could help home buyers set their families up for the future and allow parents to leave a legacy.

Co-ownership in Australia is usually structured as a tenants-in-common arrangement, where ownership is divided to an agreed share. This enables both parents and first homebuyers to pass on their share of the property to whoever they wish if they die, by naming them in a will.

So how do you ensure co-ownership doesn’t turn from familial love into hate?