A “friend” I’ll call Germaine wants me to co-sign a rental agreement.
She lives in the Moreno Valley area some 85 miles east of downtown Los Angeles; I live in Gardena, less than 20 miles south of downtown L. A.
She wants to move into a mobile home in a park which happens to have a rule that one of the tenants in each household be at least 55 years old. She’s 48, I’m 61; I am not inerested in moving out there.
She apparently wants me to sign on only so there will be a tenant over 55; supposedly I would visit once a month to maintain the eliigibility status.
My lawyer considers this to be fraud. My Mom says if I do this I will be expelled from the family.
This may sound like a stupid question, but–is the lawyer right?
As I am NOT a lawyer and can see the aspect of fraud in this proposed arrangement, and your lawyer IS a lawyer and has stated as such, I’m not sure why it is that you need to question that.
Well, if you want to be entirely sure not to commit fraud, you could always ring up the landlords.
“Excuse me, I’m intending to co-sign a rental agreement for a mobile home on your property. I won’t be paying any of the rent, and I’ll be occupying the premises one afternoon a month. My 48-year-old co-tenant will be there all the time. Is that ok?”
If they say yes, it’s probably not fraud. Still a really bad idea, but at least not fraud.
I don’t know if it counts as legally fraud – it would presumably depend on how the contract is worded, and whether THAT is legally enforceable. But even if not, it’s certainly deceptive, since you are deliberately circumventing the intention of the place.
And it’s almost certainly a bad idea, because you’re acquiring an obligation to your friend to maintain the deception, and may become liable for stuff relating to the property, which even if your friend honesty intends will never involve you, it’s always possible will do so.
Whether it’s moral depends on whether the terms are actually unfair: although obviously it’s not recommended if it’s immoral OR illegal.
Of course, I don’t know, it depends why they have the rule whether it’s unfair.
All the stories I’ve heard about these types of communities involve people going NUTS if someone breaks the age rule. It’s not worth it.
The more important question is, what’s wrong with your mom? Expelled from the family? Seems like a pretty harsh sentence for helping a friend buy a home. It’s not like you killed anyone, it’s just an arbitrary rule for a community.
One good reason not to enter into such an agreement is that if something happened to your friend and she was unable to fulfill the obligations of the lease, you would be expected to do so.
And yes, I think it is fraud to say you are living there to meet the requirements, when you have no intention of moving in. But, that is just my opinion, and I am certainly no lawyer.
You’re 61 and you still let your mom tell you what to do?
THat was what I took from the OP too! 
Sign the lease, and she skips out: you’re screwed. You will be liable for the rest of the lease.
Bad idea all the way around.
Trust your lawyer.
Tell your mom it’s none of her business.
Tell your friend, sorry.
I think most folks regardless of age who have a decent relationship with their parent(s) still consider them a source when looking for a reading on the moral compass. Speaking just for me, I’d be at least as inclined to listen to my parents’ opinions as that of a bunch of internet quasi-strangers.
That OP’s Mom answered so hard-over is suprising, but maybe “expel you from the family” is a stock phrase in their family.
My opinion on the merits:
A) It’s never good to participate in a deception, and
B) **VunderBob **has nailed the main practical downside perfectly.
You know, if your mom thinks this is such a dandy idea, maybe SHE can sign the lease and spend an afternoon and evening once a month. If SHE’S the one who is on the hook for the lease and has to be a token tenant, then I’ll bet she’ll change her toon.
Perhaps you misread? Her mom is against doing it, not for doing it.
Ah, yes, I did misread. I was under the impression that Mom was all for it.
It’s fraud. Even if it wasn’t fraud, it would still be a terrible, terrible idea.
I am not sure we can necessarily say it is fraud outright without seeing the lease or other agreements. If the lease says that an eligible tenent is anybody who stays there at least one night out of every month, then where is the fraud? If your lawyer says it was fraud and has seen the lease, then I would tend to believe him.
All that aside, I think it is a terrible idea just on the basis of being on the hook should your friend flake out.
Danger flags go up when considering incurring a financial obligation on behalf of the sort of “friend” one puts in quotation marks, while ignoring the warnings of one’s family and one’s lawyer.
The OP isn’t even going to be staying there one night a month. He’d be visiting.