Yen's story about a family agreement gone wrong

Phuong and Lily were having trouble making their mortgage repayments after Phuong hurt his back and could no longer work. After discussing options with their son, Yen, they sold their home, paid off the loan and used $150,000 of the proceeds to build a unit in Yen’s yard.

After living there for eight years, Yen told them his family had outgrown the home and wanted to buy something bigger. When the house sold, Yen returned the $150,000 to his parents and used the remaining proceeds from the sale to buy a new, larger house for his family. Despite the unit improving the value of the property, Phuong and Lily did not receive any higher return on their contribution and had to move into a private rental because they did not have savings to buy a new property.