We Offered to Buy My Parents an Apartment so They Wouldn't Have to Live in a Basement. Now They Want $300K in Cash Instead

We Offered to Buy My Parents an Apartment so They Wouldn't Have to Live in a Basement. Now They Want $300K in Cash Instead

Adrian Volenik

Sun, August 30, 2026 at 5:31 PM GMT+3 6 min read

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A couple in their early 50s was willing to put $300,000 toward getting one partner's parents out of an uncomfortable basement. The plan was generous, but it came with an important condition that the couple would own the apartment. Now the parents have decided they would prefer the $300,000 in cash.

The situation was recently shared on Reddit's r/AmItheAsshole. The poster and their spouse, both professionals with children in high school and college, have accumulated significant savings. But as the poster said, "We're definitely not wealthy enough that $300,000 is money we can just give away."

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A $300,000 Apartment Was the Compromise

The parents are struggling financially despite owning a house. They live in its basement and rent out the main floor, while carrying a large mortgage and a home equity line of credit. The basement isn't even a legal apartment.

According to the poster, the HELOC was supposed to pay for improvements to the property, but "instead it was blown on other useless things."

The father believes the house is worth $800,000, based partly on the jump in prices during the pandemic. The poster disagrees.

"It is worth $600k at best and considering the condition, probably $500k or less," they wrote. The parents expect to have roughly $400,000 in equity after selling, while the poster thinks they could walk away with $200,000 or less after debts and penalties.

Earlier this year, the parents found an apartment costing around $300,000 and asked the couple to co-sign a loan. Given their financial history, the couple refused. Instead, they offered to buy the apartment themselves and let the parents live there for a fraction of market rent.

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It wasn't exactly an irresistible investment opportunity. The poster calculated the return at just 3.5%, calling it "not really the best investment in the current climate." Still, owning the property meant the $300,000 would remain part of their retirement assets instead of disappearing as a gift.

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Then the Parents Changed the Deal

After taking several months to arrange their finances, the couple told the parents they were ready. By then, however, the parents had decided the apartment was too small and they "couldn't possibly live there." They had found a substantially more expensive condo, with fees alone exceeding $1,100 per month.

Their solution was for the couple to simply hand over the $300,000.

From the parents' perspective, if their child was prepared to spend that amount helping them, why shouldn't they receive the money and combine it with the expected proceeds from their house?

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For the couple, those are two completely different propositions. They have children to support and their own retirement to fund. Buying an asset they could eventually sell is very different from giving away $300,000.

Reddit overwhelmingly agreed. The top comment called the parents "choosy beggars," while another told the poster, "Your deal of buying the apartment is already good. They are foolish not to accept it. Stand your ground."

Others warned that even the original arrangement could become expensive if the parents stopped paying rent or failed to maintain the property.

After reading the responses, the couple worked through ideas for their finances and concluded they may be able to retire comfortably in five years, though they plan to have a financial adviser review their assumptions.

That changed the poster's perspective considerably. They still want money available to prevent their parents from becoming homeless, but they're reconsidering how much of their own future they should put at risk.

"If they want to just throw away my money then forget it," they wrote. "I can retire early and in comfort instead."

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This article We Offered to Buy My Parents an Apartment so They Wouldn't Have to Live in a Basement. Now They Want $300K in Cash Instead originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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