The Plan

[Barbaro]

Thanks so much for your concern, Barbaro. I appreciate you taking the time to reply.
We’re buying the property anyway, as an investment, but we had originally planned to rent it on the open market. If my son defaults on rent then he’ll be evicted by the real estate agent and we can rent it out like we’d originally planned. So we won’t be giving him any money or property. We had hoped he would find a place on his own but he’s been unable to find anywhere. He’s applied for dozens of places without any luck. There’s a rental shortage here and many working people are homeless.

We have a similar problem here with rentals, not to mention jobs. My son tried for more than a year before we said we must go somewhere else. He landed a job within 2 weeks. It was easy to find an apartment, and they were OK with 6 months rent on the spot. Son still has to pay utilities and rental insurance. He has never lived alone, but says he's doing OK. I wish he could have found something local. He is presently over 1000 miles away.

 

[ksm]

A duplex is one building, but with two units. Here they just look like a regular house with two front doors. Sometimes the garage is in the middle of the two housing units. Sometimes, not too much more expensive than a single home, but allows more income possibilities.

Ksm

 

[MissLulu]

A duplex is one building, but with two units. Here they just look like a regular house with two front doors. Sometimes the garage is in the middle of the two housing units. Sometimes, not too much more expensive than a single home, but allows more income possibilities.

Ksm

I can see the advantages of that. I’m not sure what we call those here as they’re not common. Probably just units.Thanks for letting me know!

 

[MissLulu]

We have a similar problem here with rentals, not to mention jobs. My son tried for more than a year before we said we must go somewhere else. He landed a job within 2 weeks. It was easy to find an apartment, and they were OK with 6 months rent on the spot. Son still has to pay utilities and rental insurance. He has never lived alone, but says he's doing OK. I wish he could have found something local. He is presently over 1000 miles away.

It’s so great that he’s doing ok. Some days I’d love to send my so far away (LOL!) but in reality it must be very hard.

 

[newstart]

New Start, thank you so much for this reply. It gives me hope!

I'm pleased that your daughter has somewhere safe to live. Life is never easy with these kids and as their parents, we must do what we can live with. I know this will not be easy, but it's not easy having my son in my house either. I'm lucky that we can afford to do this, as I know it wouldn't be an option for everyone.

MissLulu, Your life will become so much better once your son is out from under you in your home. My daughter living in the same home as me is not an option. The abuse, the mess, the sass is something I cannot live with and I too do not want to walk on egg shells. If things did not work out with our daughter living in our rent home we were going to rent it out to others, my daughter knows this, maybe why she tries to make it work. Also the home will soon be paid off so that is another reason for her to rethink making her payments. I wish you all the luck in the world to get your son to open his wings and become responsible.

 

[RN0441]

I think that's a great idea. You may as well try it. This could help him grow up without being under your thumb.

This is something we have thought about doing with our son also. In any event, when he gets his computer networking degree we will probably help him with a small downpayment on a home. They are relatively inexpensive in the south, rather than having to pay rent.

He would also have a roommate depending on what his salary is when he is done with his education.

I say give it a try!

 

[Barbaro]

It’s so great that he’s doing ok. Some days I’d love to send my so far away (LOL!) but in reality it must be very hard.

We are still afraid for him, but he says he likes where he is and loves where he works.

 

[Tanya M]

We too did the same thing for our son. Bought a nice little house. The plan was that he would pay us rent and once we determined he was really stable (several years of being stable) that we would gift him the house. Sadly for us it did not work out that way.
We kept the rental house for 13 years and sold it last year. Tired of being a landlord.

I wish you all the best!! My only suggestion as others have said, make sure he signs a lease. I also purchased a book about landlord/tenant rights. Even though he's your son, you still need to know the laws and all the rules.
I truly do hope it works out for you and your son.

 

[MissLulu]

We too did the same thing for our son. Bought a nice little house. The plan was that he would pay us rent and once we determined he was really stable (several years of being stable) that we would gift him the house. Sadly for us it did not work out that way.
We kept the rental house for 13 years and sold it last year. Tired of being a landlord.

I wish you all the best!! My only suggestion as others have said, make sure he signs a lease. I also purchased a book about landlord/tenant rights. Even though he's your son, you still need to know the laws and all the rules.
I truly do hope it works out for you and your son.

Thanks Tanya, I'm so sorry it didn't work out for you. I know this is a risk for us as well.

We have had rental properties before so we are aware of the general rules (and the pitfalls!). To try to prevent big problems, we will be renting the property out via a property manager (real estate agent) so he will be signing a lease and paying his rent to the agent not us. He'll also be subject to the same rules and restrictions as a normal tenant, so the agent will evict him if he doesn't pay or doesn't adhere to the rules.

We have found a house we like and are hoping to make an offer this week. I've sent the documentation to my lawyer and will wait to see what she has to say.