Thread: Advice for a US Marine

Hello everyone!


I'd really appreciate your advice and help. Let me preface all of this with the fact that I really have ZERO experience with real estate, mortgages, etc.

BACKGROUND:
This question is actually for my fiance (we are both in the Marine Corps). She loves her mother more than anything else in the world. And she would do anything to help and take care of her; and I would do anything to help and take care of my fiance. One of the biggest problems in her mom's life is her house.

THE SITUATION:
She bought her house many moons ago for $125,000, but she would like to sell it. The problem with that plan, though, is that it's in a state of disrepair. The foundation is crumbling, the electrical is messed up, etc. Fixing the house to sell would NOT be cheap. She cannot afford it, whatsoever. Their family recently got together, and they were talking about it. One solution was floated. Her brother is thinking about buying the house for very cheap: the market value of the house (which, considering the issues, is likely quite low). He would fix up the house as a project. Then my fiance would buy (or co-sign?) a house for her mother; they found one at $65,000 that would fit her mom's needs; they do not intend to buy it right now, they were just doing preliminary research to see what was and would be available. The reason my fiance would buy it is because her mother's credit is pretty poor, and she would not be able to get a loan. Her mother, though, would be able to certainly afford the mortgage payment without much of a problem. Once the mortgage was paid off (or near to), my fiance would like to transfer/gift/sell it into her mother's name.

THE QUESTIONS
The situation makes me extraordinarily nervous. For her mother, my fiance, and her brother. For their credit. For the loop holes. For the laws. There are a lot of variables involved here.

Very broadly,
1) do you have any advice?

Specifically,
1) are there as many variables as I imagine?
2) would a daughter be able to “gift” or “transfer” a deed/title on a house to her mother?
3) outside of your expertise I know, would this affect my fiance’s ability to get student loans, since she’d have property, a mortgage, etc in her name?
4) would my fiancé be able to buy the house “jointly” with her mother? That is, be a co-signer, etc? She would prefer this over buying it strictly in her own name.
Very importantly: Are there any more questions that I’m missing? Any holes in the plan that need to be brought up to my fiancé, her mother, and her brother? This is just the beginning stages of my/our research, so I feel like I'm missing a glaringly obvious problem.

Her mother is a fantastic woman. She's fell on a lot of hard times, so her credit, her low income, and the state of her house is through no fault of her own. She supported 3 children by herself working two jobs. I’d really like to help her out.

Thanks! I'd really appreciate any advice or help.


Steve