This is the story of how a daughter, with the best of intentions, saved the family home from being sold from under her parents feet by the ANZ Bank, only to find it all fall apart later.
This is what happened:
- The father was a builder. He built a house at Pennant Hills in 1985, and he and his wife raised their family in it.
- The father was forced to retire in 2012 due to a heart condition. His financial affairs were in a mess. He owed the ANZ Bank $740,000 and had other creditors and was being threatened with legal proceedings.
- He had a plan. He converted the house into two units, an upstairs unit and a ground floor unit with separate entrances. He invited his daughter, her husband and two sons to move into the upstairs unit provided they paid off the Bank debts.
- The daughter raised $840,000 which was enough to pay out the ANZ Bank and the other creditors. The title to the property was transferred into her name as security for her loan.
- Four years later, they were at war because the new co-habitation arrangement did not work out - the father kept tinkering with building materials he stored in the drained pool area; he was rude to the daughter's husband and children. The police were called more than once.
- In the court proceedings that followed, all the parents wanted was to stay in the house for life. But the daughter and her family could take it no more and wanted them to leave. The Court agreed with the daughter and issued an eviction order.
We have not heard the end of this story because the parents have appealed and the eviction order has been put on hold. But there will be no winners. The appeal judges will most likely order the house to be sold and the proceeds divided up between the parents and the daughter.
All this because they did not tie up loose ends when they went into the transaction. Specifically, the living arrangements and the payment arrangements were left up in the air.
To read my case note click here -