Retiree, own 2 prop w/$0 mort. would I qualify 4 Heloc / Equity

[Jason Chin]

Hi, first post and newbie!  

Mom is retired and owns 2 properties (est worth $1.8m) free and clear without mortgages (yay) BOTH UNDER HER NAME ONLY.  I currently live in one house with my young family and she lives in the other property which she also rents out the main portion of the house (for $3200/month) while living in the basement.  She has EXCELLENT CREDIT and also just started collecting social sec (apprx $2500/month).

The house she is living in and renting was a gut renovation and is fine however, the house (2nd property) that I'm in now is in need of repairs.   that brings me here as she is asking if she would qualify for either a heloc or home equity loan.   we are leaning towards Heloc as we would like that extra security for emergencies on top of the home repairs.     

My wife and I both work and earn apprx $160k gross HOWEVER, our credit is less than stellar.    again we are not on the properties and we have apprx $28k debt (2 car loans/ few credit cards).   

Basically, The idea is to be able to use heloc to pay off our property taxes, debts and fix the house.   

would mom qualify on her own based on the above info?  

IF NOT, would we need to be added to the property then reapply?

Would u suggest Starting an LLC and transfer both properties to LLC and the reapply?

THANKS SO MUCH IN ADVANCE!  CONFUSED AND NEED ADVISE PLS!