Protect seniors from cheating children

It is worrying to see young Singaporeans at property launches with their elderly parents in tow telling real estate agents that their parents will help with down payments.

Some of these seniors may sell their own homes to help their children, and risk becoming homeless if their children are either unable or unwilling to take the old folk into their new homes later ("More seniors being cheated by their kids"; Jan 17).

While it is good that the Government has, over the years, put in place many programmes for seniors, there should be some regulation to protect those who sell off their property for the sake of their children.

For HDB flats, make it mandatory for a portion of the sale proceeds to be locked in an account for a number of years if the sellers are not buying another flat for themselves.

This way, children may think twice before asking their parents to sell their home to help fund their property purchase.

Irene Louis (Ms)

This article was first published on May 3, 2016.
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