A: Well, I need more info to fully answer your question. Do you have a written lease with your daughter and son-in-law? Do you live in a rent or vacancy controlled unit? Do any local laws specify time for eviction? How much rent are you paying (above, at or below market rate?)

The answers make a difference, and I'll tell you why.

First, the terms of the written lease will control. If you are at the end of the lease, or in breach of some provision, then it is possible that you could be forced to leave. That is, if the area is not rent or vacancy controlled. If you don't have a lease and you pay rent monthly, then they can terminate your tenancy with 30 days notice. You could fight this eviction - you may or may not win - but talking to a local attorney would be a good idea. Certain states have pretty specific and rigorous notice requirements to end a tenancy; a local attorney might be able to find either a substantive or technical problem with the eviction process. At the very least it might buy you some time. (Is there a local tenants' union? Oftentimes, they have attorneys on staff who deal with this type of issue all day long, otherwise, find an attorney who does "unlawful detainer" or "landlord/tenant" law.)

Second, if the area is under rent control or vacancy control, your landlord may be barred from evicting you unless certain specific circumstances exist. If you are under rent or vacancy control, definitely see an attorney. The local city government can give you an idea if these laws exist in your area. In San Francisco where I live, there are specific notice and compensation requirements that a landlord must comply with when a unit is sold and an owner moves in. Take note that these laws are rare - probably less than 5% of all units nationwide are covered by these types of laws.

Third, I do not know where you live so I cannot research the law regarding eviction notice requirements. In most of the U.S., notice must equal time for payment - so if you pay monthly, a month's notice is required. If you pay bi-monthly, then two months' notice is required. If you have a written lease, the notice period may be spelled out in the lease. If you do have a written lease, it will (generally) control. I say generally because I'm assuming it is a valid lease, and it will stand up in court. What if it isn't? Again, another good reason to see an attorney.

Fourth, it all boils down to money. If you are paying below market rent, then you are impairing your daughter and son-in-law's economic value of the house. If you have a long-term lease and are paying above market rates, then you are benefiting the value of the house (unless someone wants to live there). I'm assuming that the house is being purchased as an investment.

Lastly, what stipulations are you referring to? Sounds pretty cryptic to me! You might want to do two things, in this order. First, sit down with a good mortgage lender and explore all the different ways you could buy the house. There are lots of different types of loans out there, one might be right for you. And just because one mortgage lender told you to wait six months (so you could pay off that credit card or car loan), doesn't mean that another mortgage lender might think you and your spouse could qualify now. It's time to do some research, and quickly, if you really want to buy the house.

The second thing you should do here is sit down with your daughter and son-in-law and see if you can come up with an amicable solution to what sounds like a solvable problem. It's pretty severe that someone needs to sell their house to solve a financial crisis -- is there some other way out? Maybe they should investigate refinancing, or some other type of solution. Unless they buy another house (which means closing costs, and other very substantial transactional costs), they're going to lose tax advantages, equity (I'm assuming they'll be paying rent elsewhere), and other benefits of home ownership. So it's a pretty extreme reaction to a financial crisis. It's worth talking to them about this.

I hope the above helps, and best of luck.