Long distance investing while helping aging parents

[Meisha Thigpen]

Hello All,

I lived in St. Louis for 18 years and my parents, both almost 70 years old, still live in the city. I currently live and work in the Washington DC area, but I have been looking to invest back home. My original plan was to invest in my first property as a house hack in the DMV area where I live, then purchase a multi-family in St.Louis in the future. Here's the dilemma: my parents' need a new space to live in - their current home is nearly dilapidated and is not a safe place for them to be as they age. They are retired and on Social Security, so I do not want them to be responsible for a mortgage payment.

I'm looking for a strategy that will allow me to combine the need to get my parents in a new living space where they do not have to pay much on a mortgage with my desire to invest in St. Louis.

Currently, I'm thinking the best approach may be to simply provide my mother, who would be a first time home owner, with money for a downpayment and she would put a multi-family in her name, get the first time homeowner loan rate, and cover or offset her mortgage payment with rents from the tenants in the multi-family. In the future, I would take ownership of this property. I would prefer to own or co-own a multi-family with my parents, but I do not want to ruin my opportunity to get a first time home owner loan rate myself for my house hack in the DMV. 

Any ideas are appreciated - thanks to the community in advance!