Rental Property Investor · NY · Member since 2018 · 72 posts · 20 votes
My mom has a friend she has been taking care of for over a year. The friend who is 82 yrs old owns a home they will never live in again due to their physical condition. My mom has been trying to get the friend to sell the home as it is literally falling apart. Furthermore the money from the house can help take care of the friend.
I suggested she get a purchase agreement ready and just make an offer to buy the house. However she also has power of attorney so it seems like a conflict of interest. Or is it? I suppose her friend can sell their home to whoever they like. Of course I would love to buy the home if it was for sale. Should I be the one trying to make the offer?
Should me or my mom talk to an attorney about this or do we need a real estate agent? I'm really confused as to the best way to move forward. If the friend does not sell the house, then when the person dies it will eventually go to the state since the persons family will not pay taxes on the property. Thanks in advance for any advice!
if your moms friend has any living relatives you're going to want to get them involved. If she doesn't, see if your city/town has a senior advocate. Someone that can and will verify that nobody is taking financial advantage of a senior citizen. That wont go down well in court.
If your quick response is I'm not, or I don't want to, then make sure you are offering top dollar/market value. Or at least help them explore other options and offers first. But then why bother buying it for what it's worth?
Just imagine it the other way. You mom calls you and says "This nice man came by today and said he didn't think I should have to take care of my own home at my age, he agreed to buy it and let me rent it..." You might be pissed and think she was taking advantage of, no matter the terms.