A Tennessee couple built a $660K home with family — now Dave Ramsey says they need to sell it immediately

In precocious 2023, Ruth and her hubby approached his parents with an thought to physique a multigenerational location together. His begetter had suffered a changeable successful 2008 and was successful mediocre health. Being contiguous for him successful his last years mattered, and pooling resources made the astir fiscal consciousness for everyone.

The mates was upfront astir what they could afford. Ruth and her hubby had a hard ceiling of $1,500 a period for a owe payment. His parents agreed to screen immoderate exceeded that. Construction costs ran over, arsenic they often do, and the last owe came retired to $3,600 a month. His parents would screen the $2,100 gap. Nothing was enactment successful penning — conscionable a household statement and a shared goal.

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Both families contributed $100,000 each toward the down outgo and gathering costs for the $660,000 home. They moved successful September 2024.

Sadly, Ruth's father-in-law had passed distant successful June 2025. By August, her mother-in-law met idiosyncratic caller and moved successful with him. She archetypal said she'd support paying her afloat share. By January 2026, however, she chopped her publication to $1,500. And past month, she said she would halt paying wholly — but she inactive wants her chopped erstwhile the location is sold.

Ruth called into The Ramsey Show this week asking what she tin do, and Dave Ramsey didn't hesitate: "The location is gone. Sell it immediately." (1)

Ramsey suggests Ruth's adjacent steps

With lone 18 months of payments down them connected a $660,000 house, there's precise small equity built up. The merchantability proceeds whitethorn not afloat screen what some families enactment successful — meaning 1 oregon some sides could locomotion distant with little than their $100,000.

Ramsey's acquisition connected dividing the proceeds was to deduct each dollar the mother-in-law promised to wage supra $1,500 that she didn't.

"Deduct what she promised to pay, everything supra $1,500 originally, and immoderate she doesn't support her committedness on; deduct that from her fractional of the proceeds to marque the woody fair," helium suggested.

On the affectional side, helium besides recognizes that this woody outgo the mates a batch of money.

"The mode I would quantify that," helium says, is that "whatever wealth I lost, immoderate tears I person shed implicit the stupidity of this woody was worthy it for that precious six oregon 8 months, and to beryllium determination erstwhile Pop passed. That was the outgo of that."