Possibilities with in-laws' home in Chatsworth

[Jeremy Lee]

Hey all,

My in-laws live in 3bed/2bath SFH they procured a loan on back in 2004. The loan was modified several years ago and their rates are much better and affordable for them now but roughly 50% of the mortgage is still owed. In the meantime, they have been renting out 2/3 rooms to single tenants so it definitely helps subsidizing the monthly mortgage payments (at least 50% is paid off for them currently). Of course, we're not sure if this is realistically sustainable long-term and they are also in their 70s. They are currently working long-hours and are never home very much - we don't know when they intend to retire and think that it may take a catastrophic event that forces them to stop working.

Either way, we're not sure what some options are with this home - they could continue living there post-retirement but unless they have tenants, it's going to be very hard to make payments. They currently have a trust and have identified this property as being on it, in which case it would be split 50/50 between my wife and brother-in-law if my in-laws pass on. But it seems like it may not be the best idea for them to keep the home and perhaps they should downsize. It seems like it could make for a great rental property otherwise. 

Is one possibility here that we buy the home off them directly? They have mentioned selling off the home and moving closer to where we are in Orange County, and looking for low-income places to live. That kind of housing seems difficult to procure though especially around here. Or they could take the money from the sale and use it to downsize. Just trying to think of some options here and whether or not there could be a win:win opportunity for both sides.