Two years ago Elan Shoffman moved into care, leaving his flat empty while bills built up.
Since then, he has sadly passed away - but the sale of his old flat and the bills from his care have lingered unresolved over his children's heads.
But things finally looked resolved, right up until the point the coronavirus lockdown hit.
"Last Tuesday was lining up to be a great day," Elan's son Marc told Mirror Money.
"After two years my brother, sister and I were due to exchange on our late dad’s flat."
The property had proved hard to sell, thanks to being in a retirement block with strict eligibility requirements for buyers, and things had hardly been improved with the swirling uncertainty created by changing Prime Ministers, general elections and Brexit deadlines.
Then there were delays over probate after Elan passed away, but that finally seemed finished.
"Our lawyers were set to exchange on Tuesday, with our documents and our buyer’s ready to proceed, but then Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the nation on lockdown, effectively closing the property market," Marc said.
"I quickly wrote to our solicitor checking we could proceed as the property was empty so no reason why we couldn’t at least exchange, but on Tuesday our buyer’s buyer had a change of heart."
She had to go to hospital for emergency surgery and was worried she would catch coronavirus, Marc explained, so didn't want to make a commitment until the outbreak was over.
"Obviously, a person’s health is more important than a property sale but our transaction now essentially depends on the bottom of the chain surviving the pandemic," Marc said.
"In the meantime, we still have the worry of our dad’s care home fees, mounting property service charges and the prospect that the flat may also fall in value."
Marc recognises that this is far from the worst aspect of the virus, even for people trying to move home.
But that doesn't mean he has escaped entirely - with the house sale and closure it would provide once again in question.
"There are people in worst positions than us. Those who may not be able to move into rental properties or who may lose mortgage offers," he said.
"But selling dad’s flat was set to be a moment of closure as part of what has been a trying and testing grieving process.
"It would have cleared all his bills such as outstanding care fees and property management charges.
"We have waited two years already, who knows how long it could be before we can move on and solely focus on the happy memories rather than dad’s debts."
