I (F,28) need advice on what to do for my parents’ house.
Family situation:
• Dad (64): still working
• Mom (61): not working, no personal income
• Parents are separated (not formally divorced) and they don’t speak to each other. My siblings and I handle the communication between them.
• Dad gives mom RM8000 every month
• Mom stays alone in the house most of the time, but I occasionally stay with her
• Dad rents elsewhere with my brother
2.5-storey linked house, Bukit Antarabangsa
• Leasehold
• Land \~1,400 sqft, built-up \~2,000 sqft
• Partially renovated, rest is older
• Bought \~20 years ago, loan fully paid
• Estimated value: \~RM700k–1m
So here’s the dilemma…
The house:
• Is fully paid
• Generates zero income and is aging
• Has maintenance costs
• Has about 79 years left on the lease I think
Mom’s relatives are strongly against selling and feel that:
“Property is safer than cash, she must always own a house for security.”
I think that’s an outdated way of thinking.
If the house is sold,
Assuming a split of roughly RM400k each:
-
Does it make sense to keep holding this house or sell while the lease is still healthy?
-
For my mom (61, no income), is it more sensible to buy a small apartment/condo OR rent and put the money elsewhere for example -
• RM100k → emergency / liquidity (savings, MMF)
• RM200–220k → fixed deposit
• RM80–100k → buffer (not sure about this yet)
I’m hoping to generate income for my mom, as she’s insecure about the income from my dad.
My siblings and I can support her financially when my dad is no longer able to, but I would like for her to have peace of mind and an independent source of income on top of that.
TL;DR
• Parents (64 & 61) own a fully paid leasehold landed house
• Parents are separated, mom has no income, relies on RM8k/month from dad
• House is aging, under-utilised, no rental income
• Relatives oppose selling because they think “property = security”
• If sold, mom may get \~RM400k
• Question: buy another apartment/condo or rent and invest conservatively for income?