Parents are retiring but want to be fair to their 2 adult children.
My parents have a house ~$200k value fully paid off. They are retiring and moving to a different country. They are not struggling with money and do not wish to sell the house as my adult sibling and spouse lives with them.
My sibling wants to keep and continue living in the house which my parents have no issue with but they also do not want to transfer the title in order to avoid taxes. However, they want to be fair to me as their other child right now before they leave since they are basically letting my sister live there mortgage/rent free (aside from the property taxes, utilities, etc).
What are some options that they can take?
One option that I really think is not a good idea is for my sibling to send us money monthly until it is about half the value of the house(~$100k). Really dislike this option as it would create a family strain and land lord feeling which we wish to avoid. Furthermore, there would be additional tax implications getting maybe $1000 a month from our “renter”.
Another option we have considered is for my parents to take a HELOC for half the value of the home which they would then gift to me. They would then make my sibling the sole inheritor of the house.
We already have a consultation scheduled for next week with a real estate attorney to further discuss our options but wanted to explore any other ideas.
Posted Mar 5, 2026, 2:31 AM UTC