Dear Edith: We are looking to take over payments on a home. The owner just wants out from under. We will have the option to buy in one to three years. What do I need to do to make this legal for my protection as well as the owner? -- J.

Answer: You're right to take precautions before you start paying off someone else's debt.

You want written assurance that the owner won't put more mortgages on the house, that property taxes will be kept up-to-date and that you agree about who will make repairs. You need a binding agreement that you can buy, for what price, when and on what terms. You need an understanding about what happens if you later change your minds and want to back out, or if the seller backs out.

Unless that happens to be an assumable FHA or VA mortgage and you can qualify to take it over, you'd have to find financing elsewhere when you were ready to buy. What if you couldn't get a loan at that point?

Where real estate sales are concerned, oral promises are not binding. Your lawyer will know what should go in your signed contract.

ON THE MORTGAGE

Dear Edith: What does adding my son's name to the mortgage do? Does he become part owner? -- V.

Answer: If your son signs a promise to be responsible for your mortgage, that makes him personally liable for the whole debt, just as you are. It does not change the ownership of the property. The real estate is still owned by the person or persons named in the deed.

RENT OR SELL

Ms. Lank: We (three siblings) own an inherited house in another state that is rented, but will be vacated soon. My brother is interested in selling to an interested buyer without a real estate person involved. I think keeping the property as investment income might be better. The market will begin to reflect increased value in homes, right? What would you suggest? -- K.D.

Answer: I don't know your financial situations, how much trouble it is to keep the house rented, whether any of the others live near enough to keep an eye on it, how long it was rented, what the tax consequences of a sale might be, or what the third sibling thinks. I don't know what the real estate market will do or how you'd come out if you sold and put the proceeds into other investments. On top of all that, if you haven't tested the house on the open market, I don't know whether the proposed sale price is in line with market value.

Sorry, but you'll have to figure this one out for yourselves.

CONDO TAKING TWO YEARS Continued...