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Given how high property prices are today, it’s not surprising that more home buyers are turning to their parents for help. It’s also part of the that’s happening in Singapore; and culturally, parents are anxious if their children aren’t homeowners too. But when these seemingly simple arrangements go wrong… they can go wrong indeed. Here are some cases we’ve come across: Maddy (not her real name) told us a story about a nightmare condo investment, which she made with his parents. This was back in 2011, when Maddy had the idea to purchase an old resale three-bedder, close to the institute where she teaches. The idea was that Maddy would live in the master bedroom, while renting out the other rooms; the rent, eventual resale profits, etc. would all be split between her and her parents.  This would serve the dual purpose of giving Maddy her own space near work, whilst also providing something in the way of “forced savings”, which was how she regarded her share of the condo.  Maddy says, “ Although Maddy wasn’t happy with this, she agreed as her parents had a share in the home too. However, after this, her cousins requested an extension of their stay, which her parents agreed to – and they were staying without paying any rent.  Things came to a head when the agent found a tenant, but her relatives were not ready to move out: “ This was a prelude to further issues, as a few years down the road, Maddy’s parents again asked to accommodate a relative visiting from abroad. This turned into extended stay without rent. She also gave up another room for one year, to a friend of her father’s from Malaysia. Maddy has abandoned the idea of the condo as a rental asset, as her co-owners (her parents) seem to treat it like a holiday home for friends and relatives. However, she doesn’t feel she has the right to gainsay them, as “ ML co-owns an old walk-up, purchased with the help of his father in the ‘90s. ML’s father still prefers to stay in his own terrace house, so ML is the only one living there.  As with most walk-up apartments, they tend to be quite old; and this one in particular dates back to the early ‘70s. ML says the deterioration of the walk-up is so bad, that he can “ when he turns on some of the faucets; and there are three leaks from the unit upstairs that eep into one of the bedrooms, the living room, and the master bedroom’s en-suite bathroom. ML says he has spoken to his neighbour upstairs, a retiree who simply says he has no money to fix the issue. The common corridors are also in a poor state, and need repainting. Simply put, the condition of the walk-up is terrible, and ML wants to sell and move out.  “ But a second property is tough for ML, as he would face a 20 per cent ABSD on the second unit. Also, ML says his father has been influenced by friends, who have nagged him into waiting for an en-bloc sale rather than selling.  ML says it’s “ ML also worries about his age, saying that moving and financing a new home will be tougher as he gets older. Currently, he has plans to move in elsewhere with his partner and try to rent out the unit, splitting the rental income with his father; but he’s still uncertain if he’ll get the green light to go ahead.  PK was in his early 30s when he bought a new four-bedder condo with his parents. To finance the purchase, his parents had sold their previous 4-room flat – at the time, it was believed the unit was large enough for all of them (including two other family members) to be a long-term home.  However, PK says the sale of the flat “ the down payment. PK also had to agree to be a co-borrower, to help with the loan. At the time, he was still single, knew little about properties, and thought of it as an advantage: “ A few years later though, PK was engaged, and this was where the trouble started.  “ PK says this was also viable as, at the time, his sister had been staying at her boyfriend’s home.  PK says, “ (the fiance) The final push was when PK’s sister needed to move back in, after a break-up with her boyfriend.  “ As some final salt in the wound, PK and his fiance had to look for a resale flat, which was older and more expensive. Because he had just sold a private property, PK would have had to wait for 30 months before he could ballot for a BTO flat.  (Note: it could have been worse today; PK could have had to wait 15 months to buy a resale flat after selling the condo, as he’s not yet 55 years old). . You can follow us on for more stories of homeowner experiences in Singapore’s private property market.