Al-anwar Newspaper English news in Australia
A western Sydney real estate agent is locked in a legal battle with his older brother who claims he is owed about $280,000 from mortgage repayments and improvements to a house they lived in at Constitution Hill.
In a civil case before NSW Supreme Court, Andrew John Taylor argues his brother and LJ Hooker Greystanes sales executive Lachlan James Taylor breached his trust and should repay him half or all the payments since January 2019 when they had a falling out and Andrew left the home. The statement of claim, filed in December 2020, alleges the siblings agreed the month after Lachlan picked the house in October 2014 that they would each put half into paying off the $685,000 property — a claim Lachlan denies. Lachlan is registered as the sole proprietor and denies a written or verbal agreement was entered with his now-estranged brother in 2014 about joint ownership. The statement of claim says Lachlan denies stating that if Andrew paid half towards the property’s acquisition, improvements and maintenance, repayments and interest of loans with Westpac, and later with Macquarie Bank, he would hold an equal ownership in the property.
The brothers lived together in the house, which RP Data now says is worth $1.06m, for just more than four years. Lachlan, 35, denies there was a “joint venture” that improved the value of the property nor that his 37-year-old brother should be compensated.
Lachlan agrees the loan was only under his name but denies he had instructed the conveyancers and the bank to register the title certificate and loan in his name alone to protect the parties’ joint enterprise in the property from any risk that could arise from Andrew’s businesses.
He also denied he and Andrew agreed he would correct the title certificate to reflect joint ownership when Andrew requested it.
Lachlan claims his older brother paid a fee to occupy a room in the house as a tenant.
Until January 2019, several improvements were made to the property including an outdoor entertainment area, pool deck, garage, refurbishment of two bathrooms, and the installation of a security system and a fireplace.
But Lachlan claims he only funded improvements himself and denied his brother “used his personal labour and exertion to improve and maintain the property” as listed in the statement of claim.
