How much of a deal should a parent give their kid on a house?

ignore the paper from their taxes - who gives a f//k what THEY think its worth
In every country on earth something is only worth what somebody will pay for it , THATS its "value"

get an appraisal of its current "value" from a reputable appraiser of YOUR choosing (dont do it online)

This is the absolute max you should pay
If they want to make it "worth his while" then I would be looking at paying say 130 (if its value is appraised at 160)
(When people say they will make it "worth your while" its normally an indication they want to get it off their hands(i.e maybe the repayments on the money they owe is a problem))

The amount they owe on it is their problem not yours- so you should ignore it OR use it to YOUR advantage

(it might also pay to get a surveyor to check it over
It may look good - but is it?

Remember 1 thing
the amount they paid for it and how much they owe have NOTHING to do with you.
The ONLY thing that matters is how much its worth NOW

BUT as others have said- its far better you do not mix finance with relations/friends
Finance you want the best deal for YOU, not them
but relations/friends think you have a duty to consider their side of things as well as yours. They also tend to try to impress on you how good a deal you are getting as in this case, where they may be giving you their inflated opinion of its "value" which could be well above its true "value"
that is - they want the deal weighted towards their side - not yours

Why should they give a deal at all? If the kid doesn't like the price then you negotiate. If you cannot agree on a price then go and buy a house from someone else.

I would suggest not buying the house at all. Ever hear the saying, "Never do business with friends or family"? There is a reason for that. It doesn't matter how good of a deal they think they are giving him. If they price it low, they'll be bitter that he took advantage of them. If they price it at market value, you and he will be bitter that they didn't give you a better deal.

Property that brings in income cost more. But since it will no longer be income property, the price should come down. There are so many factors such as shape of the place, age, when was the roof replaced and do they have the necessary papers for the insurance company, neighborhood and on and on. What you two buying the other side means that they will have a solid income and you two will be responsible for half the repairs. I might consider buying the entire place for a very reasonable price and that way you have one side for income and then you live. The other side would just about pay your bills. You remodel the rental side and take that off your taxes and then later move into that side and remodel the new rental side...and take that off your taxes. And yes the tax value is usually but not always lower than the actual value. But if you think it is valued at $176000 then half of that is $88000. You did say they were only selling half the duplex, didn't you? They are way over charging. I would not want a home that close to rental property that I had no control over. I think you all need to learn to say no nicely and just move on and do your own thing. But owning rental property as in the entire place is a good way to shelter income and have something at retirement that is worth a few bucks. But rental property is a lot of work and the renters are hassle but if you lived there , it would be simplier. It does take a certain kind of person to rent out property. But half of a building...no way.

Taxes on property is much less than its actual values, that's because its mostly on the land value since the house can burn down, and there is also upkeep. If you are worried call a RE agent in your area to ask what they have for sell that's near the same square foot, and amenities in the area and what they are asking divide that in half and that's the fair market value...it sounds like a great deal to me
If the realitors price for one currently on the market where you live makes what they are asking too much don't do the deal.
If you do decided to do the deal hire a REAL ESTATE attorney bECAUSE MONEY IS STILL OWED ON THE PLACE BUYING HALF ALSO ANY REPAIRS Cost should be addressed as well as you having the right to purchase the parents out or they you of their ha;l should they decide to sell and the value is lower by the amount owed etc, spit the cost of lawyer or buy elsewhere.
property values can differ greatly even a mile apart so do your homework.

Interesting that you are going to buy into half of a duplex. First get an appraisal on the property before making any decisions. Then you need it inspected. It could be a better deal than you may think. a year ago things where not going that well today it is better and the mortgages are lower now.

You should not depend on any web sites to make a determination as to the value of a property. Normally sites such as Zillow are using public records as a estimates of the value. Public records and the current market value of a property could be a far apart.

The most scientific way to determine the value of property is to have a state licensed real estate appraiser
conduct an appraisal of the property.

It is difficult for me to wrap myself around paying for half of a duplex. Where I an from normally a duplex is sold as one unit together and you would not be able to sell one half of the duplex. This appears as if you are selling a condo unit.

There is a popular phrase used in conducting business with friends and family, don't do it. Finance, family and friends are like oil and water, the do not mix well together.

You may take this potential transaction a couple of ways. The parents of your boyfriend would want to make their son understand there is no free ride or lunch, you have to pay and be responsible for you own life.

Therefore if you want to purchase this property we own, you would be required to pay this amount. Of course their son has options

#1. Not buy this property and decline the offer

#2. Make a counter offer at a lower price

#3. Try and get concessions

I hope this has been of some benefit to you, good luck.


"FIGHT ON"

It does not sound like much of a deal, but when you take out a loan for the purchase, the appraisal will give about as close to a true value as possible. If the appraisal comes in lower, then ask the parents for more money off, if you are not comfortable with the house of purchase price, then go ahead and find something else.

First off, it is your boyfriend 's decision. He can always say no and soften the blow to his parents by saying something like he has a different area in mind or another house, when he is house looking. Second, what Zillow says or any other website and what the tax records show have no bearing whatsoever on the current value of the house. The tax assessor shows the value based on when the house/duplex was originally built. It does not reflect the current value. If he wants a fair deal, he should have it appraised by a professionally certified real estate appraiser. They only charge about $400 currently. Next, if he is going to consider purchasing it, he would be wise to hire a real estate lawyer.

First the tax value is usually somewhat less than market value. But more importantly is the ownership. A duplex has one owner for both sides. They can't sell half until they have recorded documents that create separate ownership of the units; a condominium. Now going back to the tax value, since they own both sides, to me that means the $176,000 value is for both sides, not just half. They can't create and sell half until the mortgage is paid. It's not that simple.