Latest news with #Willoughby
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
4-year-old's $1 million property gift revealed in growing inheritance trend
A Sydney couple 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 down the track. While it's a unique example, property experts say more parents are helping their kids get onto the property ladder as prices continue to skyrocket. Northern Beaches couple Mark and Alana recently bought a one-bedroom apartment for their young daughter, Willoughby. The couple, who both work in sales for cybersecurity firms, said they wanted to create a sort of 'insurance' policy for their daughter and try to set her up for the future now. 'I wanted to try and do something now so that no matter what happens to me, there will be something for my daughter one day,' Mark told Yahoo warning ahead of $5.4 trillion transfer as 'avoidable' money 'traps' exposed Major warning after Aussie receives random $350 payment in her bank account Terrifying superannuation reality facing 4.3 million Australians hoping for comfortable retirement 'Think of it like buying insurance. You buy life insurance and all these other kinds of insurance. This is like buying insurance for my daughter's future. 'I know that this thing's going to be rented and paid for one day and so that security is what we needed for our daughter.' 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 said he didn't 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 when they passed. 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. 'I hate the word inheritance. Waiting for someone to die is the old way of thinking,' he said. 'Let's say I live until 80. What will my daughter want to do with money when she's already made her own life and everything? 'A 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.' Parents helping kids onto property market The couple is an example of a growing trend of parents who are stepping in to help their kids enter a surging property market. Mozo research 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't expect to be repaid. 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. Ray White Lower North Shore director Tim Abbott told Yahoo Finance while it wasn't 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. 'If people are lucky enough that their families can assist them in getting into the property ladder, it's certainly a benefit,' he said. 'The cost of construction and the cost of property just keeps going up, so if they can secure something and they've got the ability to secure something and get into the market, then it's going to pay off for them financially over the long term.' Abbott said some parents were keen to help their kids get into the market now, before things get more expensive. '[They want to] overcome a bit of that escalation in price, or just lock something in today's market with further growth getting more unaffordable as time goes on for the younger ones,' he said. Couple keen to create security for daughter now 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. 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. 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't easy. 'My wife and I have to find an extra $2,500 a month between us to cover the difference of the mortgage and rent. That's not easy for any family,' Mark said. 'But it's easier to us to make that sacrifice now, than it is in 16 years from now. Now's the time we can actually do things in our life to make more money versus then.' 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. 'We 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. "But her reaction is good, and then it fades very quickly."Sign in to access your portfolio
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
At four-years-old, Willoughby is Australia's youngest landlord. Here's why her parents bought her a unit
A preschooler has become the new owner of a $1million apartment after her parents decided to give her a head-start in Sydney 's brutal property market. Mark and Alana Kensley purchased the property for their daughter, a one-bedroom unit in a ritzy Willoughby development on Sydney's north shore, earlier this year. The couple wanted to support their daughter, also named Willoughby, in getting a foot on the property ladder before she's even started school. 'The market is incredibly tough right now - especially for younger generations,' Mr Kensley told Domain. 'Property prices continue to outpace wage growth, and we just didn't want our daughter facing that same uphill battle in 20 years.' The couple plan to rent the property out until their daughter celebrates her 18th birthday, at which point they will transfer it into her name. They opted for a garden-level apartment in the Willoughby Grounds development, where one-bedroom units start about $1million. Median rent in the area is about $750 a week. Her parents hope she will live in the apartment while studying or rent it out to fund an overseas trip. Purchasing the property, located on Willoughby Road, was a full-circle moment for the couple who named their daughter after the suburb where they once lived. Both said they would not have considered making the investment in the past, when home ownership was more accessible. Though Willoughby is still coming to grips with the acquisition, her parents claim she has begun telling her friends she is a homeowner. Last year, the average first home buyer in Sydney and Melbourne was in their mid 30s, according to Digital Data Analytics. This is about a decade older than the average entrant for both cities in 2004. However, the Kensleys aren't alone in bucking the trend. Recently, eight-year-old Ruby McLellan pooled her hard-earned pocket money with her two siblings to help fund the purchase of a four-bedroom home in Victoria. The trio managed to raise $6,000 towards the deposit, with the rest contributed by their parents. They purchased the $670,000 home in Clyde, Victoria three years ago and, within two years, it was worth nearly $1million. Other families have found less extreme ways to assist their youngest members to buy homes. A recent survey commissioned by real estate agency LJ Hooker found up to 82 per cent of Aussie parents were open to helping their kids buy a property. LJ Hooker research group head Mathew Tiller said parents wanted their kids to enjoy the same financial security they felt as property owners. 'There are many ways they can go about this, from giving them a cash gift, acting as a co-guarantor, or even letting them stay at the family home rent-free until they have saved a deposit,' he said.
Indian Express
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Increasing drone incidents near US airports, stadiums prompt alarm, officials say
US officials told a Senate committee on Tuesday that there have been more than 3,000 drone events near American airports since 2021 including 11 aircraft this year that reported taking evasive action to avoid collisions. Those drone incidents have caused significant fly delays at times near major airports, said Steven Willoughby, a counter drone official with the Homeland Security Department, who told the Senate Judiciary Committee that in two instances drones collided with aircraft conducting critical response operations during emergencies in California and Texas this year. Officials also raised concerns about the intentional use of drones for attacks, and also at major sporting events. Willoughby noted that since 2018, the Secret Service has tracked hundreds of drones violating temporary flight restrictions that protect the president and others. He added that in the last six months of 2024, over 27,000 drones were detected within 500 meters of the US southern border. Senators and administrative officials said Congress needs to change laws to toughen penalties for drone use and to give federal agencies new expanded authority to address malicious drones. Justice Department officials said at the hearing drones raise serious threats to mass gatherings but said the FBI can cover only a fraction. 'FBI's covered events represent only 0.05% of the over 240,000 special events' over recent years where counter-drone protection could have been authorized.
News.com.au
20-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Aussie parents buy four-year-old her own $1m property
A four-year-old girl is the lucky owner of a $1m property and she may have just taken the cake for the youngest Aussie homeowner. As many Aussies struggle to become homeowners across the country, at just four years old, Willoughby won't have that same worry. Her parents, Mark Kensley and his wife Alana, decided to make the decision to not 'kick the can down the road,' and buy a home for their daughter now, rather than wait another 16 or so years to help her do it. 'She's already started telling people she has her own house,' he said. 'We've told her about (the property) and we will remind her every year …. but at four-and-a-half years old, it kind of goes in one ear and out the other.' The property the Sydney parents purchased for their daughter was a circa $1 million one-bedroom unit in the new Willoughby Grounds development. The home is in Willoughby, on Willoughby St for their daughter Willoughby – so the couple took it as a sign. 'I'm a sentimental person,' Mr Kensley said. 'We used to live in Willoughby, we fell pregnant when we were there so we named her after the suburb we lived in … I wanted to buy something that my daughter might appreciate one day, with her namesake.' Mr and Ms Kensley aren't the only ones taking this approach - parents all over the nation are forking out more money than ever before to help their kids to get a foot on the property ladder. Research by Mozo Money showed that almost 75 per cent of those don't expect anything in return and they were gifting on average $74,000. Mr Kensley said although legally the property wasn't currently in Willoughby's name, it was very much hers and as soon as she turned 18 she could do what she wanted with it. 'Live in it while she goes to university, sell it to pay for something else – who knows what, but it will be available for her to choose.' For now, it would be an investment and after living in the suburb for many years, Mr Kensley had confidence it would always have a secure tenant and hopefully pay for itself. 'It's a good development, it's quality and a great location. The bus stop is across the road, for city workers who want that convenience,' he said. 'We also have a pet cavoodle so we plan to make it pet friendly for the tenants.' Ray White's director of projects and developments Tim Abott said it was becoming commonplace for parents to do this. 'We're seeing more and more parents look to get ahead of the market — not just helping their kids into a first home, but in some cases, assisting them before they're ready,' he said. 'Willoughby Grounds has struck a particular chord with buyers. We've had people return to the suburb after years away, or in Mark's case, purchase for a child named after the area.'
Daily Telegraph
20-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
Aussie parents buy four-year-old her own $1m property
A four-year-old girl is the lucky owner of a $1m property and she may have just taken the cake for the youngest Aussie homeowner. As many Aussies struggle to become homeowners across the country, at just four years old, Willoughby won't have that same worry. Her parents, Mark Kensley and his wife Alana, decided to make the decision to not 'kick the can down the road,' and buy a home for their daughter now, rather than wait another 16 or so years to help her do it. 'She's already started telling people she has her own house,' he said. 'We've told her about (the property) and we will remind her every year …. but at four-and-a-half years old, it kind of goes in one ear and out the other.' MORE:Aussie tenant slugged with $520k bill MORE: $10m blow for pub baron after mum's house seized The property the Sydney parents purchased for their daughter was a circa $1 million one-bedroom unit in the new Willoughby Grounds development. The home is in Willoughby, on Willoughby St for their daughter Willoughby – so the couple took it as a sign. 'I'm a sentimental person,' Mr Kensley said. 'We used to live in Willoughby, we fell pregnant when we were there so we named her after the suburb we lived in … I wanted to buy something that my daughter might appreciate one day, with her namesake.' Mr and Ms Kensley aren't the only ones taking this approach – parents all over the nation are forking out more money than ever before to help their kids to get a foot on the property ladder. Research by Mozo Money showed that almost 75 per cent of those don't expect anything in return and they were gifting on average $74,000. Mr Kensley said although legally the property wasn't currently in Willoughby's name, it was very much hers and as soon as she turned 18 she could do what she wanted with it. 'Live in it while she goes to university, sell it to pay for something else – who knows what, but it will be available for her to choose.' For now, it would be an investment and after living in the suburb for many years, Mr Kensley had confidence it would always have a secure tenant and hopefully pay for itself. 'It's a good development, it's quality and a great location. The bus stop is across the road, for city workers who want that convenience,' he said. 'We also have a pet cavoodle so we plan to make it pet friendly for the tenants.' Ray White's director of projects and developments Tim Abott said it was becoming commonplace for parents to do this. 'We're seeing more and more parents look to get ahead of the market — not just helping their kids into a first home, but in some cases, assisting them before they're ready,' he said. 'Willoughby Grounds has struck a particular chord with buyers. We've had people return to the suburb after years away, or in Mark's case, purchase for a child named after the area.' MORE: Horror state of Aus' share houses exposed Aus suburbs where homes sell fastest – and slowest 'Just wanted to play': Mining bid stirs asbestos grief
