Moving In With Mom?

My fiance, Chris, and I had an exploratory discussion about what we want to do in the near future regarding our housing situation. We currently rent a 750 square-foot apartment for $1000 per month. It's a second floor walk-up with easy access to the highways and centrally located near the center of town and shopping centers in two directions. We have a huge living room and bedroom. The kitchen and bathroom are on the small end, but it's okay for the two of us and our dogs. It's lacking a fenced in yard and we share the driveway with two neighboring houses. So it wouldn't be a home we settle down with a few kids.

We had brought up the subject many times in the past, but with our wedding coming up soon, it's more than a passing thought. It's the beginnings of our future home plan.


I had mentioned in the past that my mom rents her home from our family friend. Our family friend mentioned to me a long time ago that one day he would be willing to sell us the house if I wanted it. The house was originally a foreclosed home that was in need of major TLC. (I wish I had some of the before pictures.) It was bought relatively cheap for $85,500 in 1998.

It's a two floor, three bedroom, two and a half baths with a two car garage. It also has a living room, dining room, kitchen, den (which can be converted into a bedroom), and a big yard - the house sits on almost a half acre corner lot. My mom and our family friend put in a decent amount of money and time to make it what it is now. My mom and her boyfriend are currently renovating the kitchen to remove that 80's dated kitchen look and make it more contemporary. I would love for us to add another room to the house and add a patio/deck.

Chris revisited the idea of living with my mom, primarily to be around family and secondarily, to help save money - my mom would help raise our children and we would help pay the rent. We then took it one step farther and thought, why don't we buy the house from our family friend? Our family friend is getting older and he doesn't have any children of his own. My sister and I are pretty much his adopted daughters. The home is currently valued at $260,000 according to Zillow.com. If we can negotiate a good deal, then we can save money (and sanity) in many ways.

My one concern would be looking for a job on Long Island. Right now I'm at a comfortable, corporate job making a respectable engineering salary. Mechanical engineering jobs on Long Island are almost non-existent. Computer, software, and electrical engineering jobs are more prevalent there. It would be easier for Chris to find work since he's a personal trainer/gym manager, but he's looking to do something different. If we can secure jobs on Long Island close to home, then I wouldn't mind moving back home.

We would both love to live with my mom and help her out. She can also retire early and enjoy her free time. We still need to think this through, but it's an option we'll approach my mom and our family friend about in the near future and see how they feel about our living arrangements.

Have you ever considered living in a multi-generational home with your parents/grandparents?