Passive income is certainly the name of the game - building a real estate portfolio and creating generational wealth are key ingredients to long term holistic financial health and success.There are fantastic real estate investment opportunities in various markets, particularly in the Midwest and Southeast of the country. 

Haha, no bartending experience here, just trying to mix the right ingredients for a good deal!

However, this method still carries reassessment risks.A revocable trust set up by your aunt (after your stepfather quitclaims his interest) is likely the simplest and most tax-efficient way to ensure you eventually own the property while avoiding property tax hikes and probate.

Your simplest option is a hard money loan or private loan against your free and clear property to provide the cash for the rehab.

@Shafi Noss Improving the land would be the simplest since there's already a driveway, electricity, and an old water well that needs to be jetted again.

This is the simplest method, but it also means your tenants are more likely to abuse the utilities by leaving windows open with the heat or A/C running, leaving lights on, ignoring the toilet that constantly flushes on its own, etc.3.

A Good Deal With a Bad Ingredient is a Bad DealNot all deals are good deals.

However, the simplest way for an intra-family transfer would be to quit claim deed the property to your sole name/entity, which comes with no warranties or guarantees. 

Long story short, the simplest way to look at this is to add a 0.5% or 0.55% to your FHA rate and then compare that to a Conventional option (note rate + PMI rate) priced with 1.75 discount points.

The most important ingredient in real estate is TIME.