30, single, software engineer in SF bay area.
Father is 63, by himself on other side of the country, and soon will need considerable financial help. Income < 12k a year, spotty, not in perfect health. Hasn't taken social security yet, but may decide to soon (joint decision, but let's keep this not TOO complex.) Has a place to live now, but not gonna last forever.
Have decided to purchase a house for him, using the thinking:
1. He'll always need a place to live. Have given some financial assistance in the past when needed, and honestly, for me - I'd rather put my money into something I own, as opposed to it just disappearing.
2. Insane housing market here, might as well start purchasing somewhere else.
I'll try and give relevant info, and ask my questions.
Income: $165k/yr, + lottery tickets (ISOs)
Current expenses: $3263/month
Live/work in SF. Above number includes $2400 rent for a 1BR, $500 car payment (please have mercy, far from upside down and at 0% interest, it's a truck, not a bmw, and I get my usage from it, but yes, it's a luxury), insurances, gym, family cell plan with dad on it, utils.
Assets: 60k IRA, 35k liquid
Again, in my defense, came from low means and had a ton of debt out of school. Haven't lived as frugally as I could have (i.e. have not been MMM reader past decade), and didn't always have current income.
Specific questions:
So pops is in PA now, but doesn't have a ton tying him there. Would like to see me more, and isn't married to staying in that state.
I recently lived in SLC, UT for a year, and loved it (outdoor nut), but had to move back to SF for career. He'd be open to living there (pretty easy to take the 2 hr flight, visit, enjoy the area a bit, etc.) If we don't go that route, I'd have to find somewhere in CA where I could afford to buy that a) wasn't a hell hole, and b) is within 2.5 hrs driving. If I'm gonna buy something in this state for him to live in, we'd better be able to see each other. Seems like there's not much in the immediate vicinity that's reasonable, and SLC is a good investment for real estate, afaict (it's growing.) In this state, I feel like I'd want to look near Sacramento.
So, concrete questions -
Given my income, it would seem that I could afford to make relatively high mortgage + homeowners, taxes, etc payments, and STILL be able to save some, on a relatively expensive house. Down payment is limiting factor there.
1. Should I -
a) Try and find a 5% down, or 10% down no PMI mortgage, and go big on a house (in a non SF Bay Area locale)? (because interest rates are low, inflation could happen, and I could potentially buy in decent market), or,
b) Try and find some sort of multi-unit dwelling and take advantage of having a family member living there that could help act as a landlord? (again, non-SFBA market)
c) Buy a reasonable (100-200k) condo or some such in SLC or Sacramento, be glad I can help out my dad with housing, make trips from time to time, make the mortgage payments, and figure out a strategy for the rest independently of that situation?
d) I'm an idiot, and should be doing something completely different?
2. For any of the above, which type of professional would I go to for advice on the taxation situations? A real estate lawyer? accountant?
This would be my first time home purchase, but I would not be living in it. However, it wouldn't be an income property, since I wouldn't be charging my dad rent. Would it be a "vacation home"? Or could it be some sort of rental, that I'm taking a (tax deductible) loss on?
Honestly, thanks for any tiny bit of advice. Probably a complicated situation to try and assess from the outside. The ONLY thing that's off the table is us living together. As crappy as that sounds, I love the guy, but it'd be bad for both of our mental health situations. Obviously finding something around here that involved me ditching the $2400 rent would be great, but really...it's not an option.