Jumping into being a Landlord, but is it legal?

[Jesus Moreno]

So I am relatively new to investing and trying to learn as much as I can, asking questions and meeting with experienced investors i'm ready to jump off the edge, but in my competitive market its hard to find a deal that matches my investing criteria. however I'm not letting this deter me from my goals I look at my automatic MLS alerts everyday and analyze deals as much as possible. With that said I am open to any strategy as long as it helps me break through...

One day I was brainstorming, and I remembered that my parents have a rental in Farmington NM, that is just sitting vacant, that they use as a storage; trust me I know, its crazy to let an investment that could be producing cash flow, just sit and do nothing.  To explain my parents situation, they tried investing in rentals but soon, became the frustrated landlords that you always hear about on the podcast, making all the typical mistakes, to their eventual forbearance of their real estate investing goals. 

The property is paid for free and clear which means that through, better management, it would cash flow better than one that has a mortgage. So my question is can I act as the landlord and manage the property my self although my parents are the actual owners, and use the cash flow to buy my next deal and get free landlord experience at the same time? 

[Jesus Moreno]

@Joe Splitrock you know Joe I didn't think about the tax liability, that just goes to show that one needs to take everything into account on a potential investment. Next time I talk to my CPA I will bring up this topic. thanks for the suggestion. 

@Shawn Johnson I will IM and we can chat a little more about this.