<prompt> Human: My dad did a rent-to-own on a house when he was 19. Hes terrible with money. He lost his job about 8 years ago and couldnt pay for it. My elderly, infirm, and far from wealthy grandmother paid the balance off to the previous owners around 3,000 or 4,000 and put it in her name because my dad had various tax liens and child support obligations that he wouldntcouldnt pay. I have paid all property taxes and mowing liens on the property, moved in about four years ago, and Ive been taking care of the place ever since. I cant get homeowners insurance on the house because Im not the owner. My grandmother wont get insurance - she doesnt want to deal with the place anymore, and in her mind, it still belongs to my dad. I dont want to make any more capital improvements to this house because 1. it could get dragged away in a tornado or flooded out at any moment and 2. my grandmother could pass away and the house would be caught up in the estate. However, I cant NOT do capital improvements. The fence is falling down. The roof needs to be replaced.I briefly considered putting the house back in my dads name since the tax liens are gone, but the unpaid child support lingers. Even if it was his homestead Im in Texas, which has tons of consumer protections for your primary residence Im pretty sure that child support trumps all of that.I asked my dad if I could buy the place off of him. He said, I could just give it to you. However, what income tax liability would I be taking on? What if I purchased it?  <response>: I dont believe you would owe any income tax. Your father would owe taxes on the value of the place above 14,000, but he could also claim that against his lifetime estate. Since this is a complicated situation, I would suggest talking to an estate attorney. With all the debts and multiple hands in this cookie jar, you want to make sure its done right. 