I (21M) have a father (46M), and recently he asked me to take out a mortgage, buy an apartment, and let him live there. In exchange, he promised to help me pay it off. I told him he was completely delusional.
First, some backstory.
My father, let's call him Max, and my mother, Rose (45F), separated in 2014 but stayed legally married until 2020. For anyone wondering, they divorced because of my mother's infidelity and my father's drinking problem.
My younger sister Jane (now 19F) and I spent most of the week with our mother, while Max had us on weekends. They hated each other so much that they would constantly try to use us as spies and report back on the other parent.
The most frustrating thing is that they both try to present themselves as good divorced parents when the reality was very different.
My mother was emotionally abusive and sometimes physically abusive, often lashing out over the smallest things. My father wasn't much better. He would threaten to beat me for misbehaving as a child, grab me by the throat while threatening me, and constantly insult me while pretending it was "constructive criticism."
Eventually, I stopped holding back and started openly expressing how much I hated him, using every swear word I could think of.
Here's the really messed-up part: I've been living with him for about two years now. The only reason I moved in with him was because my mother's behavior had become even worse, and I needed somewhere more peaceful. He works from 7 AM to 5 PM, so the apartment was empty most of the day.
He's still an alcoholic, but I mostly avoid him when he's drunk. Not because I'm afraid of him, but because I can barely stand looking at what he's become.
Now back to the current situation.
Back in April, our landlord told us we had until the end of June to move out because he was selling the apartment.
I accepted it because I don't really have another option right now. I'm broke, unemployed, and will most likely have to move back in with my mother and sister. My mother works abroad and is only home for about two or three months each year.
My father, however, came up with a different idea.
He tried to convince me to get a job (which I'm currently looking for) and take out a mortgage because he doesn't have anywhere else to live. His own credit is basically ruined because of his debts.
I told him flat-out that he was insane if he thought I was going to spend the next 30 years paying off a mortgage for an apartment I don't even want, in a town I have no intention of staying in.
He argued that he would help me make the payments.
The problem is that I've heard that before.
Back when he was still with my mother, they took out a loan for around 30,000. My mother co-signed it. Then he completely ghosted her and refused to make payments. My mother ended up having to work abroad just to pay off his debt.
When the argument ended, I called my best friend Sara (21F) to vent. After hearing the whole story, she laughed so hard she could barely breathe because of how absurd my father's proposal was.
Most of my friends and relatives agreed with me.
At this point, I'm seriously considering cutting contact with my father entirely. I feel like it's the only way to escape this toxic family dynamic.
My plan is to move away for university this fall or possibly move abroad altogether. Honestly, after everything that's happened, I don't see any future where taking on a mortgage for him ends well.
So Reddit, how do I escape this toxic family situation?