[RANDY P]

Lien the property - offer to give them the down payment they need and have escrow write a promissory note. Put yourself in last position with a balance declared. Make sure there is a baloon provision in there to force payment if something happens.

You don't have to actually excecute the terms of the note, in fact you can always forgive the note down the road if you want.

EDIT: Just be careful - in the event they want to refi the property, the lender will want to see payments have been made on the loan you hold, if in fact the note has provisions for monthly payment. If you can't produce proof of payment through cancelled checks or a letter from an actual escrow company stating payment, any lender will consider YOUR loan defaulted - even though you may have an informal agreement saying he doesn't need to follow the terms of the note. Perhaps writing it as a fixed amount due vs. monthly payments would be the best way to go. Consult a local expert about this.

This allso prevents them from overspending down the road through cash out refi's - in the event they get hungry you get paid off.