A managing director at a major bank has revealed he will need his parents’ help to buy a home in Sydney.
Ash Frenken, director of AMP subsidiary Citro, admitted he would struggle to buy the house he wanted to live in without the support of the “Bank of Mum and Dad”.
The 34-year-old tenant said his parents recently moved from Melbourne to regional Victoria.
“Investing in real estate is a challenge for people of my generation. I definitely need help from mum and dad, and that’s not unusual for people my age,” Frenken told Daily Mail Australia from Rio de Janeiro.
‘There’s no doubt that shopping in Sydney is a very challenging thing to do. If it’s something I want to do, I’ll probably need support from the people.
“My preference is to not have to ask Mom and Dad for help, but certainly if they can, or there’s a way to do it that doesn’t affect them or their retirement, then it’s something that could be an option.”
Mr Frenken lives in Tamarama, by the beach, and works in central Sydney as a director of Citro, a spending rewards program for Australians approaching retirement age.
He hopes to buy in Sydney’s eastern suburbs so he can maintain his social connections.
Ash Frenken, managing director of a major bank, has revealed he will need his parents’ help to buy a house in Sydney.
Ash Frenken (third from right), director of AMP subsidiary Citro, admitted that he would have difficulty buying a house where he would want to live without the support of his parents.
“Ideally I would stay in the same community that I’m in because community is really important,” he said.
‘That’s where I currently live and I really enjoy it, although it is certainly one of the most expensive areas in Sydney to buy.’
Tamarama’s median home price of $5 million is more than three times the median home price in Sydney of $1.5 million.
Even with a 20 per cent mortgage deposit, you would need to earn $769,230 – or more than double what the top 1 per cent earn – to secure a loan on your own.
“Sydney is expensive, even the outer suburbs of Sydney cost over a million dollars,” he said.
‘Getting to 20 percent, that is, saving more than a million dollars, is a very difficult thing for anyone.
“It is certainly much more difficult to do it yourself, not only because of the need for capital, but also because of the need for a deposit, than simply because of being able to meet the loan payments.”
Mr Frenken was reluctant to reveal what his salary was, but suggested it was not “entry level”.
As a high-profile figure in financial and technology circles, Mr Frenken is reluctant to travel from a suburb outside Sydney.
“Of course, could I buy in a cheaper area? Yes,” he said.
Mr Frenken (in white polo) hopes to buy in Sydney’s eastern suburbs so he can maintain his social connections, with his group of friends including actor Tim Draxl (far right).
“I certainly have the opportunity to get into real estate, although I would have to make concessions in the area where I live.”
But is he still renting so he can live with his friends, because he can’t yet afford to buy in Sydney’s eastern suburbs?
“Unfortunately, I can’t do that and live where I want to live,” he said.
‘I’m currently renting: it gives me the option to live where I want to live.
‘Right now, the community I have around me and where I live, the lifestyle factor I get from that is more important, and that’s why I choose to rent.’
When she finally buys, she resigns herself to having to ask her parents for help with things like a 20 per cent mortgage deposit and lender’s mortgage insurance.
“If I had to pay in Sydney, maybe they would have to,” he said.
‘Help can be many different things.’
The millennial achiever believes baby boomers had it much easier.
“It was a little easier for the generation before us,” he said.
As a high-level person in financial and technology circles, Mr. Frenken does not want to travel from a distant, remote suburb of Sydney when he finally buys