# My parents need advice. Should I give them a loan?



## maison (17 Mar 2008)

Could anyone offer advice or tell me if this is a good idea?

My parents, both 60, are currently under financial pressure. My father is a self employed tradesman who employs my brother. Neither of whom are very business minded aside from keeping the basics afloat. They have a looming tax bill, loans, an overdraft and in general the business is not making ends meet at the moment even as regards paying wages and all has been an ongoing battle in recent years. They have a moderate amount of work on their books at the moment and have fared ok in this regard all along. 

They also have a second property which they bought with a view to being a kind of a nest egg although the renting of this is not covering the mortgage anymore, but with falling prices in the area they would currently not even break even if they were even successful in selling it. 

They also have a field which was inherited a long time ago and have considered selling sites from this or selling the whole thing.

Im tired of seeing them struggle and would like to do what I can to ease things for them. I have some savings, in the region of €40,000. I know that they would never let me give them money and I have loaned them small amounts in the past, but I have been thinking about offering them a deposit on a site from that field, maybe €15000 (site estimated at €50-60,000) to build on it down the line when i hopefully get a permenant contract at work, and if they were to sell the field or the site in the meantime they could go ahead and return the money to me from that? 

It seems like a big decision and as things stand I would be happy to locate there, although of course I cant say what the future holds.

Does this seem like the right route or am I missing something else I could be advising them to do. Im also aware that this wont solve business problems in a year or two years.


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## steph1 (17 Mar 2008)

*Re: Helping parents fairly*



maison said:


> Neither of whom are very business minded aside from keeping the basics afloat. They have a looming tax bill, loans, an overdraft and in general the business is not making ends meet at the moment even as regards paying wages and all has been an ongoing battle in recent years. They have a moderate amount of work on their books at the moment and have fared ok in this regard all along.



Can I ask does your father engage an accountant to do his books, tax returns etc., if not maybe it might be an idea to engage an accountant who would be experienced in these matters and can have a look at the whole situation before you decide what to do.


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## maison (17 Mar 2008)

*Re: Helping parents fairly*

Yes he does, I havent mentioned my idea to him yet so I wanted to get some advice first, see if theres any issues I hadnt considered.


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## Brendan Burgess (17 Mar 2008)

*Re: Helping parents fairly*

I agree with steph. Your father needs an independent view of the whole situation. I am not sure that lending him money or buying a site will help. It might just stop him from dealing with the issues. 

Is his son the only employee of your father? If your father is not dependent on his son, then the son should probably look for a job elsewhere. There is no point in damaging both their careers and finances. 

I wonder if there is a course for tradesmen on how to run their business successfully? I know some who are great tradesmen but find it difficult to manage their finances. 

I don't think you should buy a site if that is not where you want to live. It is restricting you too much. 

Your parents should probably put both their investment property and the land on the market as they could be wiped out by any further drop in property prices. 

Brendan


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## mercman (17 Mar 2008)

Tough one this one. You are emotionally involved so you will never make a clear decision. Simply put, you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. These are your parents and if  you don't help them who will you help. Maybe you should get some independent opinion, to help you make the right decision for you and all your family, before it is all to late.


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## steph1 (17 Mar 2008)

Just found this site which may be of use regarding courses for trades people

[broken link removed]


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## maison (18 Mar 2008)

Thanks for all the comments


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## mercman (18 Mar 2008)

Maison, before you go, make the right decision and the best of luck to you all


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