Buying my Mom's house in Texas

[Josh Barnett]

I have been talking to my mom about buying her house in Round Rock Texas that she currently lives in.  I cannot think of any downsides to doing this.  She would sell it to me for what she owes.  Hoping the bank can transfer current loan and mortgage directly to me without any additional stipulations.

She would then pay me rent equal to the mortgage and we would work out a payment for insurance and taxes.

I would then have all the benefits of a rental house. Write off the interest, repairs, "visits" to my property.  I think she bought it for around $180k 7 years ago.  Its worth about 280 now.

This would also set us up incase something happens to her.  It would be less stress at that time and the house can quickly go on the rental market.

What do you think about this plan? If she is willing to do this, should I go for it? Do I need a real estate agent, or would something like this be handled through the bank and insurance company?  Any keywords I should read up on?

I am 35, own 1 house in Colorado Springs, CO, and am Active military. 

[Marc Winter]

Directly to your question about transferring the mortgage: unless it's currently a VA or FHA, it is unlikely the bank will simply let you take it over. Think about properly structuring either a Land Trust or LLC, then transfer the title into the entity. You control the entity and can take the tax deductions, etc, without triggering a possible due on sale clause.

Second, Mom will indeed become a tenant, so draw up a proper lease between the entity and Mom.  I would definitely have an attorney or title company do the paperwork and a full title report and insurance before transfer of title.