My b/f wants us to buy his deceased father's house in another state as a rental, what can go wrong legally?

Question

My navy b/f and I have been together for almost 3 years, but we never lived in the same state because I am in grad school while he is on base. We have been talking about getting married since 2006 (before he went to Iraq), but I we both wanted to do it the right way. We are very much in love and this summer I went to the Midwest to meet his family for 1 week at their house.

THE ISSUE: His dad passed away a year ago and now the bank who did the mortgage has named him a defendant in the Ohio civil court system to take over the financials for the house.

He asked me to go in on the deal since the remainder amount is approximately $30,000.00, and we would use it as rental property since we do not want to live in Ohio. I’m not sure if I am ready for this. I’ve never lived in Ohio, or even been there. Therefore I don’t know how we would maintain this “rental” property in a state where we are not going to live in….please give me your opinion, thanks

Answer 1

Again, you should probably not do this unless you both sign a contract with an exit strategy for both sides if anything was to happen.  

You can always hire a property management company to take care of the maintenance and the rent.  They usually charge you a percentage of the rent.

http://www.allpropertymanagement.com/sea...

Answer 2

NO, NO, NO.  If you were married that would be one thing but don't agree to it.  If you split up you'd still be on the hook.  Who will look after the rental property?  If it needs maintenance or if you just need to keep an eye on your tenants who will do that?  You'd end up having to pay a property manager to do that.  Tell your bf no thanks you don't have the money.  You've discussed marriage for 2 years now and are still not married - that ought to be a sign too.......................