Is this a viable plan? (Personal loan repayment from relative)

[A Nonny Mouse]

You're all bringing up great points. I really need to think this through better. Whoever said I'm uncomfortable with the idea is right. I shouldn't be, I guess, since my mother is extremely responsible with money, but for some reason I am. Maybe it's just the amount. And yeah, I definitely wouldn't want my stepfather to be solely responsible for the debt, eeek. I will have to give this more thought and talk to my mom more about it, if she still wants to do it (she was supposed to forward me the emails from her agent, but didn't).

[A Nonny Mouse]

Well, I talked to my mom last night, bringing up some of the points on this thread. I told her we could officially record it as a loan or they could put my name on the deed as part owner/buyer, and pay me off in increments until they had paid me back and owned the house outright. She didn't have much to say. I think she had the idea I could give her the money as a gift and pay me back under the table. Besides the tax implications, I'm just not comfortable with that option, so we'll see what she decides. The listing agent indicated the property MAY go down in price, so I told her she could always wait and see what happens if she doesn't want to make a decision now. I said I'd be happy to go on another walkthrough of the house with them and bring proof of funds for the agent, if she wants to go ahead with it. I forgot to talk about how it may be easier for them to get a loan on a house that costs around $80,000 (there are several around here), so I'll mention that next time I see her.

Thanks everyone for the advice--it's really helped me to clarify my thinking.