For High-Net-Worth Families, Family Offices & Their Businesses
A Property & Construction Lawyer for High-Net-Worth Families and Family Offices
Discreet, front-end contract advice across prime residential and commercial property, building, renovating and developing, in Australia, from a solicitor who is also a registered architect
On a prime home or a major development, the design gets the attention, but the building contract decides the outcome. A very large sum sits in one asset, and the contract is what protects it.
Christopher Larcos advises high-net-worth families, UHNW individuals and family offices on the construction and contract layer of their property, the residences they build and the commercial and mixed-use assets they develop through their businesses. It is the part their accountants, tax advisers and private bankers usually do not cover. He is a dual-qualified solicitor and registered architect with more than 40 years in construction, so he reads a contract the way it will actually run on site.
That makes him a natural fit for architect-designed and trophy homes, and for the commercial developments that sit alongside them in a portfolio, where every detail is scrutinised and a loose contract costs the most. He can act as a single, discreet point of contact, take instructions from the family office, the business or a nominated representative, and work alongside your existing advisers rather than across them.
Whether you are about to sign, structuring who contracts and how, or facing a cost, delay or defect dispute, the aim is simple: a contract that protects the asset, the budget and the privacy of the people behind it.
Why high-net-worth families and family offices choose Christopher
Capital concentrated in major assets
A prime home or a commercial development commits a very large sum to a single asset. The contract that governs the build is what protects that capital, and it is drafted and reviewed accordingly.
A discreet, single point of contact
Discretion is assumed, not requested. Christopher deals directly with the family office, the business or a nominated representative and keeps the construction layer contained and confidential.
He reads the build, not just the clauses
A dual-qualified solicitor and registered architect with 40+ years in construction, Christopher reads a contract the way it will actually run on site, so the exposures are caught before they become disputes.
One adviser across residential and commercial
From an architect-designed home to a mixed-use development held through the family business, Christopher covers the whole property side, working alongside your accountants, tax advisers and bankers rather than across them.
What he advises on
The construction and contract layer of a prime residential or commercial project, from the agreement you are about to sign to the dispute you did not see coming.
Contract review and structuring before you sign
ABIC, Australian Standard and bespoke contracts read against how the project will actually run, with the correct contracting entity, the principal's representative and the terms worth negotiating settled before you commit.
ABIC and Australian Standard contracts
ABIC on architect-designed homes and renovations; AS 4000 and AS 2124 (construct-only) and AS 4300 and AS 4902 (design and construct) on commercial and development work, reviewed, amended and negotiated for the project in front of you.
Delivery models for a development
Choosing and structuring the delivery model, construct-only, design and construct, cost-plus or managing contractor, so design and delivery risk sit where they belong on a commercial or mixed-use project.
Contractor insolvency and payment security
Staged payments matched to work in place, security, bonds and retention, and terms that limit exposure if a builder or contractor fails, given home warranty cover is capped and commercial work has no such scheme.
Cost, variations and delay
The price, variation and extension-of-time mechanisms that decide who carries the cost of change, handled so a fixed-price, cost-plus or design-and-construct project holds to its intended budget and program.
Disputes, defects and adjudication
Advice when a payment, variation, delay or defect dispute arises on a high-value home or development, aimed at an early, contained resolution, informed by Christopher's work as an adjudicator across five states.
A framework across the portfolio
For families and offices holding several residential and commercial assets, a consistent contracting framework, standard form, special conditions and payment terms, reused and adapted across projects, asset types and jurisdictions.
Advising in Australia’s prime residential and commercial markets
Advice is provided remotely from a NSW base to families, family offices and their businesses building and developing across the country, with particular experience in the premium markets where design and contractual precision both have to hold.
Sydney
The eastern suburbs, harbourside and North Shore hold much of the country's UHNW residential wealth, while family offices back commercial and mixed-use developments across the metro. On both, the contract has to hold as tightly as the ambition.
Melbourne
Toorak, Bayside and the Mornington Peninsula favour design-led homes; family-office capital also sits behind retail, hospitality and mixed-use assets. Either way, pinning down price, variations and program before work starts is what protects the investment.
Brisbane
Riverfront prestige suburbs bring structurally ambitious homes, and a fast-growing commercial and build-to-rent pipeline draws private capital. Complex, staged builds need payment and time mechanisms robust enough to survive the site.
Perth
Dalkeith, Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove are high-spec and often riverfront, alongside resources-linked commercial holdings. WA also lets parties name their adjudicator in the contract, a useful lever on any landmark project.
Adelaide
Premium residential pockets and the Adelaide Hills reward considered homes, while family businesses hold commercial and development assets across the city. The contract should manage variations and completion as carefully as the workmanship.
Common questions
What does a lawyer for high-net-worth property owners actually do?
On a prime home or a commercial development, most of the value, and most of the risk, is decided by the building contract, not the design. Christopher Larcos advises owners, their family offices, their businesses and their representatives on that contract: how it is structured, what it should say before it is signed, how price, variations, time and quality are controlled, and what happens if something goes wrong. The aim is a contract that protects a large sum committed to a single asset or development, so the project delivers rather than turning into a dispute.
Do you advise on commercial and mixed-use developments, not just homes?
Yes. Many high-net-worth families and family offices hold commercial, mixed-use and investment property through their businesses as well as their prime residences. Christopher advises on both: architect-designed homes and renovations under the ABIC suite, and commercial and development work under the Australian Standard contracts (AS 4000 and AS 2124 for construct-only, AS 4300 and AS 4902 for design and construct). The construction and contract issues rhyme across the two, so a single adviser can carry the whole property side of a portfolio.
Do you work alongside family offices and their existing advisers?
Yes. Family offices already have accountants, tax advisers, private bankers and buyer's agents. Christopher's role is narrower and complementary: the construction and contract layer that those advisers usually do not cover, across both residential and commercial assets. He can act as the single, discreet point of contact for a build or a development, take instructions from the family office or a nominated representative rather than requiring the principal on every call, and give advice in a form the office can file, compare across projects and rely on.
We are building or developing through a trust, company or SPV. Does that change the contract?
It can, and it is worth getting right at the front end, on residential and commercial projects alike. The contract has to name the correct contracting entity, deal with who gives instructions and approvals on the owner's behalf, and align with how the asset or development is held. Getting the principal, the principal's representative and the signing entity right avoids awkward questions later about who is actually party to the contract and who can enforce it. Christopher advises on the contract side of that; the structuring itself stays with the family's tax and corporate advisers.
If our builder or contractor becomes insolvent, is a major project protected?
Not as fully as many owners assume. On residential work, statutory home warranty cover exists in most states but is capped, and the cap is typically a fraction of what a prime home costs to build; commercial developments have no such scheme at all. Contractor insolvency has been a live risk across the industry in recent years, including for well-regarded firms. The practical protection sits in the contract: staged payments matched to work actually in place, security, bonds and retention, and terms that limit what is exposed if a builder or contractor fails. Christopher advises on those terms before you sign.
Which delivery model and contract suit a bespoke home or a development?
It depends on the project and how much risk you want to carry. A fixed price gives certainty but prices in contingency; cost-plus offers flexibility on a bespoke, high-specification build but needs disciplined controls; design and construct, construct-only and managing-contractor models each allocate design and delivery risk differently on a commercial development. On architect-designed homes the ABIC suite is common; commercial and development work usually runs on the Australian Standard forms. Christopher advises on which model suits the project and drafts the conditions that make it work.
Can the engagement and the project be kept confidential?
Yes. Discretion is a normal expectation for this work, and it is treated as such. Christopher advises remotely from a NSW base, deals directly with the family office or a nominated representative, and can build confidentiality expectations into the contractual arrangements with the builder, contractor and consultants. The intent is advice that protects both the asset and the privacy of the people behind it.
Do you advise across a whole property portfolio, residential and commercial?
Yes. Families and family offices often hold several properties, residences, commercial assets and developments, and build or renovate more than one over time. Rather than treating each project as a blank page, Christopher can help set a consistent contracting framework, the standard-form choice, the special conditions and the payment and dispute mechanisms, that can be reused and adapted across projects, asset types and jurisdictions, so each new build or development starts from a known, tested position.
Keep reading
Contract Review Before You Sign
The single most valuable step on a prime build or development: know exactly what the contract holds before you commit to it.
ContinueAustralian Standard Contracts
AS 4000, AS 2124, AS 4300 and AS 4902, the forms behind most commercial and development work, reviewed, amended and negotiated.
ContinueSpecial Conditions
How tailored special conditions, rather than editing the standard form, protect a high-specification home or development.
ContinueCredentials
- Dual-qualified solicitor and registered architect
- 40+ years in the construction industry
- Adjudicator across five Australian jurisdictions
- Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects (FRAIA)
- Experience across prime residential and commercial projects
- Former NSW & Queensland Editor, Building & Construction Law Journal