All Forum Posts by: Frank M.

Hi @Frank M.! I see two big problems with a sale leaseback in this situation. First, if they can't afford their current payment, they definitely won't be able to afford your (higher) lease payment. This is an eviction in the making; it's only a matter of time. Which brings up the second problem...

After you've paid their $8K in back taxes and purchased the home subject to the existing mortgage, they are going to eventually get into financial trouble again. You're going to try to evict. And that's when they are going to claim that they didn't understand that they were selling their house and that they've been bamboozled by a sneaky real estate operator (that's you!). They'll forget the tight spot you got them out of and demand their house back. Maybe a judge listens, maybe not. Either way, you'll be the bad guy and will lose, no matter the outcome.

Whatever "special meaning" the house holds for these folks wasn't enough for them to keep up the tax payments. They need a cheaper place to live.

Purchase the home, if it makes sense, but I'd strongly recommend paying them a few bucks to get them out and then finding a tenant who can actually afford to live there.

Residential property, in general, can be used as a rental. There may be regional or local restrictions, such as rental density requirements that would prohibit you from using the property as a rental. In some areas an owner may need to register their rental, but I am not familiar with any NY property/rules so I'm speaking in very general terms.

Another useful tool is to see if the county where the property is located has a GIS. Using the example earlier, google Onondaga County GIS to get to http://www.fsihost.com/onondaga/ and then click on "Layers" and turn on "Parcel Land Use" to see zoning. Google Onondaga County property card to get to property cards. On the property card, the fields of interest would be Property Class (e.g. 210 - 1 Family Res) and Zoning Code (e.g. R10). That should get you started...