sbiddle:
I'd still love to know what the mother really had to do with it.
Story to me seems like a case of wanting to flip the property.. A "safe" deal because property prices were going up, the mother gets the commission, and you can then sell the property quickly after it's complete. Obviosuylt eh plan had multiple points where it could fail, including the fact a 24yr old student clearly has no way to fund a $600k mortgage.
I'm surprised this became news. But then again I shouldn't be.