Loan Mod on a Home I want to Fix/Flip

[Damaris Conrad]

Hi Everyone:

I have an interesting dilemma and not quite sure which direction to go here despite some experience with rentals, fix, flip, etc. A friend of mine is willing to give me her home if I will pay her outstanding bills on the house. (No liens, all contractors have been contacted).

She is divorced, and both just want out of the house, as she is getting remarried and relocating. It is a an excellent house in a great neighborhood with the usual repairs/fixes. The problem: It is with OCWEN and on a loan mod. Don't get me started with OCWEN- we will be here for days!

Ocwen told us we could assume the loan- but now they are saying we can't due to it being a loan mod. She is allowed to sell the house, but we are waiting on funding on my end. She needs to move out of state right away, while we are waiting on funding decisions.

Should I offer to "rent" the house from a distance, pay mortg, pay the utilities while we are waiting on funding? The loan is current, and neither of us wants to see her get behind. What type of agreement should we have in place? She doesn't have the funds to continue doing the payments, if I don't do this, as she has just resigned from her current job in preparation to move out of state. It could be a few weeks before funding comes through.

What should I do to protect her and ourselves here?

2) If renting is a legal viable option, even though we wouldn't move in, as we are out of state, then what about doing the fixes while we wait on the funding? She would rather that I take the house instead of listing it-- due to finances, but what if the funding goes bust?

Is there a legal and creative way to do this process?

Thanks for the thoughts, counsel.

Damaris