Legal constraints on real estate loans to family members
I'd like to "refinance" the remainder of my home loan with my parents, meaning, they would pay off the remainder of my loan, and I would pay them an agreed-upon interest rate for an agreed-upon time. I live in Virginia. My parents live in CA. Are there any legal impediments to this?
1 Comments
Sorted by latest first Latest Oldest Best
I wouldn't call it an impediment but you need to have a written mortgage agreement in place to identify at least the following terms:
Interest rate
Monthly payment amount and due date
Term
What happens if you miss payments (i.e. at what point are you in default and they foreclose)
What happens if they die
What happens if you die
Insurance requirements
Usage restrictions (if any)
The mortgage needs to be filed with the county (or whatever is appropriate in Virginia) to prevent you from selling the house while they still have money owed on it.
They also need to claim the interest as income on their taxes (whether or not you can itemize it as a deduction).
This may seem like overkill for a family loan but it's to protect both of you in case something goes askew, and makes certain that everything is clarified and not assumed (I've seen situations where the borrower thought there was some "grace" on payments and decided not to pay for a few months, which caused friction). If it makes either of you uncomfortable then maybe a family loan isn't the best option.
There also may be some state-specific requirements that needs to be addressed. I would call a local title company and see if they have any additional advice.
Terms of Use Privacy policy Contact About Cancellation policy © freshhoot.com2026 All Rights reserved.