An interactive walkthrough of what we're asking, why it's the right move for the family, and how the numbers compound over the next 30 years. Every assumption on this page is editable — all the charts and projections update live.
Do and I have aligned on buying a 3-bedroom property in Footscray or an adjacent inner-west suburb, target price around $820,000, settlement June–July 2026. NAB confirmed a staff owner-occupier rate of 5.64% this morning.
That gift level is the cleanest fit for the 3-bedroom plan. It gets us to a 21% deposit (no LMI), preserves my investment portfolio for long-term compounding, and leaves roughly $95,000 from the same Carlton sale for whatever deployment serves your retirement best. The second Carlton remains untouched.
If your position supports a larger gift of $210,000, an alternative plan opens up: a standalone house at ~$880k instead of a townhouse — a materially better long-term asset. Both scenarios (plus a lower-commitment fallback) are below, and you can play with the numbers yourself in the next section.
These are the inputs behind everything on this page. Drag any slider and the entire site — monthly repayments, projections, and charts — recalculates live. There are no hidden parameters.
Comparing what happens to $285k (one Carlton's net sale proceeds) under four redeployment options. The curves update live as you change the assumptions above.
Each curve shows cumulative $ value over the horizon you set. All figures nominal (not inflation-adjusted).
| Deployment | Year 1 | Year 10 | Year 30 |
|---|
The family-wealth comparison is what matters if the long-term frame is "capital deployed for maximum multi-generational outcome." The gift-based scenario beats holding or HISA by a factor of ~3–5× over 30 years, driven almost entirely by leverage and the PPOR capital-gains-tax exemption.
Each reflects a different gift level and property type. Gift amount splits 50/50 between Do and me. All three use NAB staff rate 5.64%, 30-year P&I, FHB stamp duty treatment, co-ownership as tenants in common with a deed of contribution.
Three scenarios, each shown at a townhouse-like and a house-like growth rate.
Before the gift question, selling the Carlton apartments is very likely the right move for your own retirement strategy regardless of what you do with the proceeds.
Current net yield on the Carlton apartments is approximately 4–4.5% after body corp, rates, insurance, agent fees, and vacancy. Gross rent of ~7% on ~$300k is in line with 1-bed Carlton benchmarks, but after operating costs you're netting around $12–13k per apartment per year. That's roughly equivalent to a high-interest savings account ($270k at 4.5% = $12,150/yr) with none of the hassle.
Carlton cost base ~$200k per apartment in 2005–2010, current value ~$300k. That's a CAGR of around 2–2.3% over 15–20 years — well below broader Melbourne (~5–6%) and underperforming inflation in several of those years. Inner-city Melbourne apartment values have been structurally declining over the past two years; Footscray units are down 6.8–17% in the last twelve months, and Carlton sits in the same apartment-oversupply dynamic.
Body corp meetings, tenant turnover, vacancy gaps, maintenance calls, agent management. Time cost that's easy to undercount until it's gone.
Why a gift to us compounds differently than you holding equivalent capital:
A $180k gift becomes the deposit on a ~$780k property. We capture 100% of that property's capital growth on only ~23% of our own capital. If the property grows at 6.5% per year — $53,300 in year one — that's an implicit return of ~28% on the gifted capital in the first year alone (before mortgage costs, council rates, etc.). Obviously not sustainable at that headline figure, but the leverage effect is real and compounds for 30 years.
The property is our principal place of residence (PPOR). Capital gains on PPOR are exempt from CGT under the main residence exemption. Over 30 years that's hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax saved versus the same growth occurring in a taxable vehicle like an investment apartment.
Do and I are both 25. The property has a 35+ year compounding runway, starting now. Capital held in Carlton continues to grow at ~2%; capital held in HISA grows at 4.5%; capital held in our PPOR captures 5–7% growth on the underlying asset value. The delta compounds.
The equity built in our PPOR over years 3–7 becomes the deposit for a second property (investment) — typically around year 5–7 of ownership. That second property then compounds for the subsequent 25 years. This is standard property-ladder mechanics; it only works if we have a strong enough foundation to build it on.
To land on the specific gift amount and scenario, a few things from your side. Even rough numbers are fine — enough to know whether S3, S1, or S2 best fits your comfort level.
Items worth running past the accountant before any sale is triggered:
Selling before 30 June 2026 locks the gain into FY26. Selling after lands it in FY27. Either may be optimal depending on your other income in each year. FY26 already includes the June Verisign payroll run; FY27 may benefit from RSU vesting timing.
If held jointly 50/50, gain splits 50/50. If held solely in Mum's name, she reports the full gain against a lower casual-hospital income base — likely meaningfully lower total CGT. If held solely in Dad's name, the full gain adds to Verisign income and hits higher brackets. Worth confirming title structure and whether any restructuring is sensible.
All apartments held more than 12 months qualify. Carlton apartments held 15–20 years clearly do.
The apartment sale should coincide with our property settlement (June–July 2026). Practical mechanics: exchange contracts on the Carlton sale once we have an accepted offer on our property, settle both within the same ~60–90 day window.
Happy to discuss any of the above, adjust assumptions you want to challenge, or have [your accountant] validate specific numbers before we commit to anything.