Somehow, probably over a Baileys on ice, we came up with the idea of buying a house together 27 years ago as a way of getting into the property market.
Like many young people then and now, I lived at home well after university before briefly renting in an inner-city sharehouse to get that first taste of freedom and independence. But my parents’ view that rent money was dead money was never far from my mind.
My friend Pettina was in a similar position – still living with her parents, working full-time, unable to quite afford to buy a house on her own. Each of us had almost enough money to buy a tiny unit near where we grew up in the southern suburbs of Sydney, but the idea of a house was more appealing, if ambitious.
I slept a little easier when my mother gave me a surprise buffer close to settlement – a few thousand dollars she’d secretly put aside from the $50-a-week board I’d given her after starting full-time work. She was saving it for my wedding but shrewdly realised that a foot in the property market was a much better use.Pettina and the author, in front of the Penshurst home they purchased together as friends in their 20s.
, but it worked well for us because we had a foundation of years of friendship and trust, as well as similar finances and spending habits. Luckily, we had no issues during our co-ownership, but I’d recommend anyone considering buying property with a friend or relative to consult a lawyer and draw up an agreement.