I'll try to make this brief and to the point. Thanks for any assistance.
My GF and I combined make north of $160K a year. Both with solid and consistent jobs. We're both in our early 30's and are just starting to focus on retirement. Late I know, but better late than never. I max out my 401k and I have a Roth IRA from a couple years ago that I sprinkle with money when I get some. GF is also starting to pay down her student loans ($20kish) and invest as well. Neither of us has a car payment to worry about. So we're on the right track.
My long term GF and I currently live in a very nice home ($750k) that my mom owns. Coastal California, ocean views, solid living. Dream home really. If I never had to leave, I'd be ok with that. We pay her below market value for rent (thanks mom). We pay her on the 1st each and every month and are never late. We've been living in it for about 9 months. Just your standard month to month rental contract. I would describe the financial and personal relationship between my mom and I as good. Not strained or anything. I have a genuinely giving and loving parent that I'm lucky to have.
The mom owns another home in a neighboring city where she lives and really has no use for the home we occupy. You could say she's comfortable financially (retired, no job, etc.). The "deal" I discussed with my mom when we moved into the house, was that eventually, I would buy it from her. This was her idea and of course I'm all in. We discussed very little in terms of details. The rub is this: The home right now in today's market is worth $750k. I simply cannot afford to buy the place. We have very little cash for a down payment, but we do have 6 months worth of emergency savings, but I don't really want to touch that.
What would a rent to own contract or agreement look like? Would we still pay rent and then a "own it" portion on top of that per month? I guess I'm just struggling with not having a downpayment large enough and not being able to qualify for a loan that large (not sure I want to) and how to overcome that. Not in a rush to do anything, probably a year or 2 out from anything major changing, besides just paying rent. But, I guess if I could get into some sort of a lease to own or rent to own sooner rather than later, I'd prefer that. Do I just wait until I have a big enough down payment and keep paying rent?
I will mention, I have no siblings or cousins. Family is pretty small, so I'm pretty much it.
Any tips or advice or stories from someone who has sold to a child or bought from a parent would help.
Thanks!