Would you mind if you never saw the money again?

Would you mind having to repay the loan yourself and not get a thing in return for it?

Would you sacrifice your own house/lifestyle/retirement fund if you have to cover this loan?

If a stranger walked up to you and asked for a loan of this nature, what would you say?

Having a member of family request the money makes everything so much more complicated

You aren't that close to her, and her family has already made it clear they can't come to the rescue if something goes wrong. That's a big risk.

I would think very carefully about it if the loss of this money will impact on your family negatively.

There's a chance that your niece has learnt from her family's mistakes and will be diligent about repaying the loan. There's also a chance that she won't.

I don't mean to be negative, but I only just got out of a financial saga that split my mother's side of the family apart. My grandmother died two years ago and left a badly-written will and it really brought out the worst in some members of the family.

Good luck whatever you choose.