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An eight-year-old in Australia might just be the world’s youngest homeowner.
Ruby McLellan and her three siblings are all listed on the title after their parents helped them acquire their first home.
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Cam McLellan, an Australian property investor, told The Daily Mail that the siblings saved up their weekly pocket money to the tune of more than $5,000 to put toward a deposit on a four-bedroom home worth about $596,000 in Dec. 2021.
Their parents topped up the deposit, and while it’s not clear how much that contribution was, generally homebuyers aim to save a deposit of at least 20 per cent of the property’s purchase price.
The news has led to criticism against McLellan and his wife, who authored a book titled My Four Year Old, the Property Investor, with some accusing the family of “exploiting” their kids.
“We get kids to do their chores, so time spent for money earned, but we realized that in ten years time, when it gets to buy property, the deposits can be astronomical,” he told Today.com. “And it will be funded by the bank of mom and dad. So we thought it was so smarter to buy one property now.”
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McLellan, 50, added that he controls the trust “so there’s no fighting,” and the plan is to sell the house down the road, giving each of the children “enough to get started.”
McLellan said the strategy is about the importance of early financial education, and the value of the property, which is currently being rented out, has already climbed to more than $853,000 two years after purchase.
The home is located in Clyde, southeast of Melbourne, and according to other media reports, the siblings are now discussing buying a second property.
“The sooner you can get started the better because property prices will only continue to go up because we’ve got a huge under-supply of housing in Australia,” McLellan told local media.
As for the criticism, McLellan added that it’s “easy for someone who doesn’t have property or hasn’t made sacrifices, to be angry about it and easy to target a young kid who has a leg-up.”
“Young adults’ lifestyles are very flamboyant these days. I worked three jobs, I didn’t go out, I sold my car. The young generation need to sacrifice and delay gratification,” he said.
According to News.com.au, the property is now “positively geared,” with the rent outpacing the mortgage repayments.
“The whole concept was about teaching them the process of smart investing,” said McLellan.
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