Experts reveal the hidden financial traps of buying a multi-generational home

You come together at Christmas, but could you live together year round? Property prices are dropping but buying a house remains a pipedream for many Australians. Which is why so many families are banding together to buy multi-generational homes. But while pooling assets and incomes together may be a convenient solution for “the sandwich generation,” the consequences can sometimes be dire when things go wrong. UPSIZE DOWNSIZE Two Red Shoes mortgage broker Brett Sutton says he is seeing a lot of clients come together with family members to buy a better property than they would have otherwise. A common configuration is the family with kids who upsize into a larger home with the grandparents who downsize into a granny flat or self-contained apartment. Lots of multi-generational families live happily together. Picture: Tony Gough “Their collective resources help them get into maybe something that’s bigger than what the kids would have been able to afford on their own, which then offers some significant lifestyle benefits for all involved,” he says. MORE: ‘Dirty’ habit tearing Aussie couples apart 81yo to lose home over $7m bill demand Not only do the family get more space, the grandpare...