I feel crushed shouldering $1M loan after parents mortgage our homes to help uncle’s business
I can be difficult to reclaim money lent to family members. Illustration photo by Pexels
Despite my warnings, my parents lent the title deeds to two of our properties to my uncle to start a business, leaving us with a VND28 billion (US$1.06 million) debt.
In 2019, my parents trusted and allowed my father’s younger brother and his wife to borrow the deed to a plot of land to borrow money for business.
My parents signed the loan paperwork based only on a verbal promise that my uncle would return the deed if he could not repay the debt. They had no part in the business and received no benefits from it.
Upon learning this, I warned my parents that this was a major risk and begged them not to lend out anything more.
However, when I returned home in 2023, I discovered that they had secretly given the uncle the deed to a second plot of land. I was devastated. I could not understand why my parents were so blindly trusting or going so far to just preserve peace in the family.
Throughout last year, I did everything possible to help out my parents. But my uncle not only failed to make amends, he continued to deceive them and force them to repay his loans. He even planned to borrow more.
I consulted several lawyers, but most of them simply said a family matter like that is not worth suing. I shared the situation with relatives on my father’s side, but my messages were quickly removed from the family group chat. One aunt even called my mother to scold her, asking why I had told the embarrassing drama to my whole family.
I have tried my best but the VND28 billion debt is beyond my ability.
I question the responsibility of the lending party. Why did they allow two people over 60 with no legal knowledge to sign loan documents without the terms being properly explained or any assessment of whether they understood their obligations? In my view, this was irresponsible.
My parents have been almost completely exhausted, both physically and mentally, for nearly two years. They do not deserve this simply because they trusted the wrong person.
I only hope that other elderly people like them will not fall for similar lies.
*This opinion was submitted by a reader. Readers’ views are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress’ viewpoints.
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