Understanding what happened in real estate transaction: Investor swooped in

[newlywed2012]

Trying to understand a situation.... I have a relative who has long been in financial ruin. After her divorce in the early 90s she got the house and refused to move from her very upscale neighborhood. She spent her alimony on things like vacations and a piano and a fur coat. When the 3 years of alimony ran out, she realized she got a job in a department store and began working odd jobs. She wasn't able to pay the mortgage, and she maxed out many credit cards. I couldn't believe that she kept taking out more credit cards - and that companies kept lending her money. She started hitting up her son's teenaged friends for help with her mortgage payment, and eventually she turned to neighbors she barely knew for money. This went on for years. Her house is a disaster thanks to no upkeep for so long. Many times she came close to foreclosure, but somehow she'd cough up just enough money to stay in the house. She was constantly behind in payments by 9 months. The closest she came to foreclosure was around 2005, when an auction date was set.

Just days before the auction she is contacted by an Asian businessman who wants to buy the house. After that, the details get very fuzzy. Somehow he bought her house and sold it to her son, 21 years old and living out of state. All I know now is that her son's name is on the deed. Can someone explain to me what happened? I don't want to inquire more than she's spread to the family gossip mill. As a frugal person though it intrigues me. Plus she's been held up as the spendthrift boogie man my whole life - she's the prime example in my family of why living a modest lifestyle pays off in the end.

I looked up their property online and the son is listed as the owner of the home. I wonder what this means for him financially and why he'd agree to this weird arrangement. And who is this mysterious Asian investor? Is this legit?

[scubatim84]

Trying to understand a situation.... I have a relative who has long been in financial ruin. After her divorce in the early 90s she got the house and refused to move from her very upscale neighborhood. She spent her alimony on things like vacations and a piano and a fur coat. When the 3 years of alimony ran out, she realized she got a job in a department store and began working odd jobs. She wasn't able to pay the mortgage, and she maxed out many credit cards. I couldn't believe that she kept taking out more credit cards - and that companies kept lending her money. She started hitting up her son's teenaged friends for help with her mortgage payment, and eventually she turned to neighbors she barely knew for money. This went on for years. Her house is a disaster thanks to no upkeep for so long. Many times she came close to foreclosure, but somehow she'd cough up just enough money to stay in the house. She was constantly behind in payments by 9 months. The closest she came to foreclosure was around 2005, when an auction date was set.

Just days before the auction she is contacted by an Asian businessman who wants to buy the house. After that, the details get very fuzzy. Somehow he bought her house and sold it to her son, 21 years old and living out of state. All I know now is that her son's name is on the deed. Can someone explain to me what happened? I don't want to inquire more than she's spread to the family gossip mill. As a frugal person though it intrigues me. Plus she's been held up as the spendthrift boogie man my whole life - she's the prime example in my family of why living a modest lifestyle pays off in the end.

I looked up their property online and the son is listed as the owner of the home. I wonder what this means for him financially and why he'd agree to this weird arrangement. And who is this mysterious Asian investor? Is this legit?

Hard to say without more detail. Usually investors will purchase homes to turn around and sell them for a profit or to rent them out. What happened in this particular situation I have no idea since clearly it's not being rented to her if the son's name is on the deed and I doubt the son just decided to buy her a home in cash...

[elessar78]

First thing that comes to mind is Asian investor is not really that. "He" seems like a go-between and somehow, I'm thinking illegal sources of money, paid for the house which she conveniently gets to stay in.