Purchasing property with "tenant-buyer" living in it

[Alain Perez-Majul]

Hey guys, wanted some second thoughts on this.

My direct mail produced a call from a woman wanting to sell an absentee property of hers. She's got it tenanted, and the guys who is living there is interested in buying it, according to what she first said. After further prying on my part, she said that he's been paying $300 more a month since January because his intentions are to buy it (and she's been accepting said payments because she's in the process of selling it to him, technically).

However, she contacted me because she wants the money now (as opposed to in the next 2 years or however long), and said that I could purchase it since they "have no written contract."

I feel uncomfortable doing that to the tenant who is under the impression he'll be buying the property, even if the extra monthly payments that he's made are returned to him by the owner. 

But more importantly, does anyone know if the fact that he's already been making extra payments for over half a year, regardless of written contract or not, give him interest in the property? Does a verbal agreement and subsequent payments make it binding? Not looking for legal advise, nor would I take anything posted as such, but was curious as to what people thought. Perhaps you've run into something similar before, or have heard of someone who has.

*For keywords: Indianapolis, Indy, Indiana*