If you're just talking about him getting money from his 401(k), that's as simple as borrowing through his 401(k) custodian  and lending you the money. 

My way is simple I will pay you X as Y dollars per month with the first payment due in 90 days."  

Here is a screen capture of this deal.CoC of 18%. 

Here is a screen capture of this deal.CoC of 18%. 

Here is a screen capture of this deal.CoC of 18%. 

For us, 2016 thus far has been a year of concentrated effort in the area of personal finance and investing, and I feel like we are learning so much every day as we take real positive steps for the future of our family's finances.Real estate investing has really captured my imagination in the past several months, and I want to become a more involved member of the BP community because I believe that will be a catalyst to invest myself even more and take steps to get skin in the game.

Here is a screen capture of this deal.CoC of 18%. 

And I probably know exactly the thoughts, challenges, questions, and information overload, etc. that you might be feeling and experiencing right now.And I know the "iceberg" and the "elephant" seem very daunting right now.What helped me go from buying a duplex to buying 100+ unit deals is boiling down this business into 2 simple things, Deals and Dollars.I share more of this approach in a thread if you want to read, I quit my CPA Job to buy Large Apartment BuildingsTo summarize though, the road ahead for you will most likely have many twists and turns, challenges and setbacks.

He/she may have a simple public look up in their MLS for tax records but it will not always show the current owner.The gentleman that is taking care of his mother I would tread lightly with.

Either way worst comes to worse sell the property after paying down 5 years in debt, capturing 5 years in appreciation, and 5 years of tax advantaged cash flow.