At 24, My Parents Took Me In After My Divorce. Now They're Asking Me to Lend Them Money to Buy an Investment Property

At 24, My Parents Took Me In After My Divorce. Now They're Asking Me to Lend Them Money to Buy an Investment Property

Adrian Volenik

Tue, August 11, 2026 at 3:01 PM GMT+3 6 min read

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When Shane's marriage ended, he moved back in with his parents to rebuild his finances. They let him stay rent-free for about a year while he got back on his feet. Once he found a job, he started paying them $200 a month to rent a room in their home.

Now 24, Shane has managed to save $30,000, including $22,000 in retirement savings and an $8,000 emergency fund. However, his parents recently came to him with an unexpected request. They want him to lend them $5,000 so they can buy a second home to use as a rental property while continuing to live in the house they already own, which is about 70% paid off.

Shane brought his dilemma to "The Ramsey Show" to ask whether he should help after everything his parents had done for him.

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The Numbers Don't Add Up

"If they need $5,000 to buy a house, they don't need to be buying a house," co-host Rachel Cruze didn't hesitate to say. "If they can't afford a $5,000 swing, that's not good for them."

Co-host Jade Warshaw agreed, saying, "That's wild."

Their point also raises another question. If someone wants an investment property without stretching their finances or borrowing from family, there are other ways to do it. Instead of asking their son for cash, Shane's parents could invest through Arrived's fractional ownership model.

You can buy shares in professionally selected rental properties without taking on the work of finding homes, managing renovations, dealing with tenants or coordinating contractors. Arrived handles the day-to-day management, aims to generate rental income while the properties grow in value over time, and pays monthly dividends. Start investing in real estate with just a few clicks while Arrived takes care of the rest.

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Warshaw focused on Shane instead of the property.

"The whole point of you being there was to get back on your feet," she said before asking him when he planned to move out.

When Shane admitted he had not set a timeline, Warshaw encouraged him to separate himself from his parents' financial plans.

"I would just exit myself from this conversation," she said. "It's weird. Once you go back home, you're getting tied up in the family business stuff again."

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Mixing Family and Money

Cruze told Shane he shouldn't feel responsible for financing the purchase simply because his parents helped him after his divorce.

"You're their son," she said, reminding him that their support did not create a financial obligation. "They chose to bring you in."

She added that if Shane ignored their advice and handed over the money anyway, he should think of it as a gift instead of a loan.

"Give it to them. Don't have strings attached," Cruze said. Otherwise, she warned, he could become tied to the investment and face uncomfortable conversations if repayment became an issue.

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Building Wealth Across More Than Just the Market

Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That's why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn't tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry.

Arrived

Backed by Jeff Bezos, Arrived Homes makes real estate investing accessible with a low barrier to entry. Investors can buy fractional shares of single-family rentals and vacation homes starting with as little as $100. This allows everyday investors to diversify into real estate, collect rental income, and build long-term wealth without needing to manage properties directly.

Realberry

Institutional-quality real estate has traditionally been difficult for individual investors to access. Realberry gives accredited investors direct access to private real estate opportunities backed by a team with 35 years of experience, $3.4 billion in assets under management, and $481 million in cumulative distributions paid to investors as of Q4 2025, according to the company. With a portfolio spanning 13 million square feet across seven U.S. states, Realberry focuses on acquiring, developing, and managing real estate with an emphasis on long-term value creation while its principals often invest alongside clients to help align interests.

FarmTogether

Farmland has historically held its value through market volatility and delivered returns uncorrelated to stocks and bonds. For accredited investors, FarmTogether offers direct access to high-quality U.S. farmland starting at $15,000 — fully managed, with no landlord headaches.

Immersed

Immersed is building technology for the future of work through spatial computing. Known for its AR/VR productivity platform that enables users to work across multiple virtual screens, the company has grown to more than 1.5 million users worldwide. Immersed is also developing Visor, a lightweight headset designed specifically for professional productivity, positioning the company at the intersection of remote work, extended reality (XR), and next-generation computing.

Fundrise

Private real estate and private credit can add income and stability to a stock-heavy portfolio. Fundrise offers access to diversified private real estate and credit strategies through an easy-to-use platform, with professionally managed portfolios designed to generate passive income and long-term growth.

Mode Mobile

Mode Mobile is changing the way people interact with their phones by letting users earn money from the same apps and activities they already use every day. Instead of platforms keeping all the advertising revenue, Mode Mobile shares a portion back with users who engage with content, play games, and scroll on their devices. Named one of Deloitte's fastest-growing software companies in North America, the company has built a large beta user base and is scaling a model that turns everyday smartphone usage into a potential income stream.

EquityMultiple

For accredited investors looking beyond stocks and bonds, EquityMultiple provides access to vetted commercial real estate deals starting at $5,000, with only ~5% of opportunities passing their due diligence process.

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This article At 24, My Parents Took Me In After My Divorce. Now They're Asking Me to Lend Them Money to Buy an Investment Property originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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