<prompt> Human: A few weeks ago, my Dad passed away from lung cancer, leaving my Mom with his assets. Now were trying to figure out whether to sell his home, located on 1.5 acres of quiet, wooded, beautiful land in rural NY, that he always loved so much and has sentimental value to us, or whether it is possible to keep it and rent it out. The only problem is that my Mom is of retirement age, and has always wanted to buy a small vacation cottage for herself on Cape Cod a nearby popular vacation spot that she could stay in some weeks and rent out the rest of the time.My Dads house is a long 4 hour drive from us so its tough to maintain, and selling it would free up some much-needed immediate cash so she could minimize a loan mortgage on a small Cape cottage. But wed lose my Dads house...I wish I had the assets to buy it off of her, but she wouldnt be comfortable with me doing that anyways, so that is off the table. Right now I am just trying to advise my Mom on what to do. I can tell she wants to keep my Dads old house as well, but I dont want her to give up her retirement plans just so we can keep some old house that my Dad owned and she doesnt visit, however beautiful and spacious it is there. FYI, she also wants to KEEP her primary residence for the time being worth 350k, but if she does eventually move, it probably wont free up that much cash for her anyways considering expensive home prices in her area.I did some preliminary homework comparing the two scenarios rent vs sell my Dads house, but I need you guys to advise me on what is right here. I have zero experience with real estate stuff, and I want to make sure I dont screw over my Mom financially, but we also want to make sure that if there is a realistic way to keep my Dads old house while also allowing my Mom to have a miniature Cape house, that we understand all the options. Thanks!The details...nbsp;GIVENS: We currently have no mortgages My Mom doesnt really have any savings My Mom has enough in her 401k to retire in a couple years with about 40kyr projected retirement incomenbsp;SCENARIO 1: rent out Dads property using property manager, Mom takes out 250,000 ! mortgage to buy small Cape houseDads house: Value: 175,000 Rental income: 16,000yr Real estate tax, maintenance fees, and a property manager fee ?: -10,000 6,000yr profitMoms prospective Cape house: Value: 250,000 the minimum for getting a rental property with 2-3 bedrooms somewhere sort of near the beach Mortgage payment: -21,000yr some heavy estimating here, based on mortgagecalculator.org Rental income: 15,000yr based on 80 of the in-season months there Real estate tax, maintenance fees, and a property manager fee ?: -13,000NET CASH FLOW YEAR: -7,000nbsp;SCENARIO 2: sell Dads property, Mom takes out 125,000 mortgage to buy small Cape HouseSell Dads house: Sell it for: 175,000 Broker fees, capital gains tax: -35,000 140,000 of free cashMoms prospective Cape house: Value: 250,000 the minimum for getting a rental property with 2-3 bedrooms somewhere sort of near the beach Mortgage payment: -11,000yr some heavy estimating here, based on mortgagecalculator.org Rental income: 15,000yr based on 80 of the in-season months there Real estate tax, maintenance fees, and a property manager fee ?: -13,000NET CASH FLOW YEAR: -3,000nbsp;Again, just trying to make sure that IF there is a realistic way of keeping my Dads old house while allowing my Mom to also buy a small Cape house, while not screwing my Moms retirement over, that we know about it. Based on the above scenarios, it seems there may be, but that the downside of keeping my Dads house is a slightly more expensive yearly cost, and a much higher mortgage. Thank you!!!edit: edited costs to reflect a smaller likely rental income for a Cape house, based on comments  <response>: As I read your description its obvious what you want to do, but your reservation seems to be in respecting your moms unrealistic wishes. Have a final sentimental weekend there, take pictures, video, etc., then move on and do the practical thing of selling it, which is probably what your dad would want you to do also. 