How to (safely) access the cash locked up in your property

July 25, 2026 — 5:01am

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There are times in your life – and possibly through different stages of your life – when your money requirements are larger than your income. I don’t mean a straight imbalance between your salary and your expenses.

I’m talking about big ticket things like the need to renovate, replace a car (without an expensive personal loan), maybe pay for kids’ education last minute. Or it’s a retirement funding shortfall that’s making life, well, miserable.

Perhaps, increasingly commonly, you want to financially help adult children when they need it most. Thanks to the huge rise in property prices benefiting the older generation, the so-called living inheritance to get the next generation into housing is growing in popularity.

No matter why, there are options at every age to get out the equity you might think is locked in your property.

Mortgage refinance: Often – and particularly after three rate rises this year – a mortgage refinance is about cutting your monthly repayments. But sometimes it is about getting a larger loan.

And it’s even possible that, with the combination of both, you could extract equity without increasing your minimum repayment. This option is available earliest – just as soon as you have built enough equity to withdraw and maintain the maximum loan-to-value ratio.

For asset rich but cash poor Aussies, at every age there are options.

But........

© The Age