To be honest, it never occured to me to check on utilities when a tenant moves out.Check that your locality is allowed to add liens to your property, if you had not been in possession of it when those charges occured.In Georgia utilities are not allowed to do it, but yhe water company does it routinely and will lie straight into your face until you produce the law.

If it's good, evict like anyone else, they are not entitled to special treatment.OTOH, agree and keep a govt. tenant.

Why would it be any different than getting cashed out then making the same mortgage on an unrelated property to someone else (Which I can't imagine would be a scenario with any special tax benefits)?

You can buy as you described.Since this is your father, you can use a quit-claim or a special warranty deed, but, you need to modify these standard deeds to reflect the interest conveyed.

There really is no right "special secret" of what to say when you call but just be genuine, take action, keep at it, then adapt as needed.Best of luck!

the private lender i listed before specialize in inheritance loans .They fund mortgages to trust & estate Administrators (Will or No Will), Executors, Trustees .

I might even sign a release reserving the right to buy at my price if the brother doesn't buy and retain full title only in his name and maintain possession for x years, that might change the brothers attempts to make a buck by cutting you out or turning it into a rental, etc.

Congrats; That should make this Thanksgiving even more special.

FHA is not just for first time home buyers, but many states have programs that help first time home buyers fund even the 3.5% down after they've taken a home buyer course and followed some other guidelines, so worth a look into special programs if you're considering FHA as a first time home buyer.

Example: you make the offer in your name and they wont let you assign the contract and give you a special warranty deed that says you cant transfer the property for 30 days after the sale at closing.