Gifting, seller financing or sell to a close friend?

[Corey Reyment]

We have a unique situation we are looking for advice on. My parents are getting their bank accounts levied by the irs for not paying their income taxes. They own their house and have gotten threatened by the irs that they will seize their home if they do not settle up with the irs soon. We arent sure why they dont just settle but we are also looking to help them while getting our real estate business started. We would like to take over as owners and keep them there as our "renters," although we wouldnt be charing them rent. We are in contact and awaiting a reply from a title company to see if there are any leins on the property. According to the county they live in, there are no leins. 

Our questions are, could we purchase the property from them for a very small dollar amount? Should we have them do seller financing for the amount they can gift us each year without further tax implications? Should we find someone who is not related to them purchase for a small dollar amount and then sell that property to us after? Are there any other strategies to help them be able to stay at their home and allow us to take over as owners without the irs charging a ton in taxes? Can they give us the property because of our family relationship? We are planning to have it appraised and use the equity to use as cash for future rental purchases.