"To Keep The Apartment Or Not? "

"A few months ago, my 23 year-old son-in-law was diagnosed with an acute form of leukemia. He is doing quite well with his treatments, but needs a bone marrow transplant. He and my daughter have a 14 month-old baby. In a week, the three of them will be leaving town to go to the center where he will be having the transplant. They will be gone for 120 days for the treatment and aftercare.

My son-in-law wants to keep their current apartment. I will not attempt to paraphrase his thoughts, but allow him to give his reasons on his side.

I think that they should put their things in storage, and put the rent money in the bank. They currently have no savings at all. My feeling is that given their circumstances, having some money in the bank is far more important than having an apartment waiting for them when they get back. They can stay at my home when they return, for as much or as little time as they like. My house is fairly large, so they should have a reasonable degree of privacy while they are here. The management co. has agreed to let them out of their lease under the circumstances, and is willing to put them on a waiting list so that when an apartment like theirs is available, they will have first crack at it.

I have checked with a couple of the pod rental places, and it will cost approximately one-tenth of what they will pay in rent for pods to be delivered, stored, and returned. There are plenty of family and friends available to pack things up after they leave, so they don't need to worry about packing.

To me, this is a no-brainer. What do you think? ...view more"