Is this crazy? Need some advice.

[Shawn Orr]

Hello Everyone.

First, I'd like to thank everyone here. I am a brand new investor who just closed on my first deal on May 31st. I could not have done it without Bigger Pockets, and all of the amazing people who are part of this community. Please let me take this opportunity to sincerely thank each and every one of you.

That being said, I come to you all looking for some input for a solution to a problem I am currently facing. I'll try to make the lead up as brief as possible.

I am in the the north NJ/ NY metro area. My father owned a small four unit building that his parents bought when they emigrated here in the fifties. Both he and my stepmother had been living there for the past few years. Toward the end of 2017, she was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Her response to this news was "I'm not dying in this apartment!". So my father, being the sweetheart that he is, sold his building (for much less than he should have) so that he could buy her a house in a retirement community in Manchester Township. This all happened very quickly and by Mother's day this year she passed away. So now my father is all by himself in a house which is two hours away from myself,  everyone else that he knows, and all of his doctors (he is not in the best health). This has resulted in a lot of driving on his part. He should not be driving. His mind and reflexes are not even close to what they used to be. He has suffered at least one stroke that we know of and he is starting to show early signs of dementia. In the past month he has been in five car accidents. The last one resulted in him totaling the rental car that he had while his car was being repaired.

For his safety and my own sanity, I have to do something about this. I need to get him closer to me. Unfortunately moving my family closer to him is not an option for reasons I won't bore you all with.

So this is my idea-

1. Sell his house. We can hopefully get $150,000 for it.
2. 1031 that money into a two unit wholesale deal.
3. Take out a HELOC or home equity loan and use that money for any repairs/renovation.

This way, he can occupy one of the units and my family the other. It needs to be done this way as opposed to having him move in with us. I love the man to death, but he can be very difficult and introduces a lot of unnecessary stress between my wife and I. There needs to be a degree of separation. If not I know that it will be the end of the relationship with my wife and I don't want our five year old son to witness all of the fighting and arguing leading up to our inevitable divorce. I'm sure that some of you can relate.

As I mentioned, I just closed on my first deal so all of my useable cash was put into that. So unfortunately I have almost nothing to contribute to this. I am not trying to freeload off of my dad or of this situation. I will pay off the loan for the repairs and the property taxes (which anyone in this area knows are insanely high). This way he has no expenses to worry about.

Here are my questions,

1. I am looking specifically in Clifton, NJ. (I am currently in Bloomfield. Taxes are lower in Passaic County.)Can someone who knows the local market tell me if it is even realistic to find a wholesale two unit deal there for under $150,000?
2. If so, will the plan to use a HELOC/home equity loan for necessary repairs work? I can have him stay in our current apartment temporarily while any repairs on the property are being made.
3. Has anyone else who might have been in a situation like this have any insight?
4. Is this crazy?

I need to do something. I have been racking my brain and this seems to be my best (possibly only) option.

I apologise if this is a little long winded but I wanted to try to present the full scope of the situation and answer any questions any of you may have.

Any answers or input are greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance.