Expert: John - 9/7/2007

Question
Brettney, maybe you can help us with this, my husband's mother passed away in Jan. There is a home to settle estate. My husband's older brother has offered to purchase the home for 40,000 and with some money to remodel. The brother is a homeowner and has 3 more years to pay on his mortgage, we however rent a mobile home and our credit is not really good. The plan is for him to buy, we live in it and buy back from him, is this a good idea? We know we will not benefit alot from this, the question is, is there a way we can both benefit from this partnership and how can we make this work?

Answer
Hi, I found your question in the question pool.  
The first thing I would caution is the possible family feud that could arise.

The best thing to do to make this work good is have a real estate attorney write up a contract.

Everyone agree a on payment.  

I have family that did this.  It is easy.

The last thing is make sure you pay him every month or you will hurt his good credit.

Now in a few years of living there and repairing your credit, you will be able to get a loan to pay him off.
Good luck,
John