I think my bigger problem in deciding which one to go with is that they are both relatively good deals ( not amazing). but the financing will determine which one is better. one is offering seller financing at a great rate but huge down payment.

NH is a relatively landlord-friendly state compared to many others.

Does anyone in the family live nearby her house and where is the retirement home she's living in relative to her house? 

A staged lease-reading followed by a Q and A is much more the kind of training and performance exercise you need in the landlord-tenant relationship.Of course, once you get up past a certain number of tenants, holding these kinds of formal lease-signings is going to get very hard to handle and/or you're going to get sick and tired of showing up.

A lot of forum members are very knowledgeable in their respective fields related to real estate investing, whether that is real estate sales, wholesaling, flipping, rentals, lending, self-directed IRA and Solo 401k investing, or tax and legal guidance.There are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guidesThe site has quite a few tools that can be helpful for new members.

A lot of forum members are very knowledgeable in their respective fields related to real estate investing, whether that is real estate sales, wholesaling, flipping, rentals, lending, self-directed IRA and Solo 401k investing, or tax and legal guidance.

They're inexpensive 4-plexes relative to other non-hoa buildings across town, but I still find that they cash flow well. 

(Effective September 30, 2018.)(1) A landlord may not, based on the source of income of an otherwise eligible prospective tenant or current tenant:(a) Refuse to lease or rent any real property to a prospective tenant or current tenant, unless the: (i) Prospective tenant's or current tenant's source of income is conditioned on the real property passing inspection; (ii) written estimate of the cost of improvements necessary to pass inspection is more than one thousand five hundred dollars; and (iii) landlord has not received moneys from the landlord mitigation program account to make the improvements;(b) Expel a prospective tenant or current tenant from any real property;(c) Make any distinction, discrimination, or restriction against a prospective tenant or current tenant in the price, terms, conditions, fees, or privileges relating to the rental, lease, or occupancy of real property or in the furnishing of any facilities or services in connection with the rental, lease, or occupancy of real property;(d) Attempt to discourage the rental or lease of any real property to a prospective tenant or current tenant;(e) Assist, induce, incite, or coerce another person to commit an act or engage in a practice that violates this section;(f) Coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of the person having exercised or enjoyed or having aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected under this section;(g) Represent to a person that a dwelling unit is not available for inspection or rental when the dwelling unit in fact is available for inspection or rental; or(h) Otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling unit to a prospective tenant or current tenant that, but for his or her source of income, would be eligible to rent real property.(2) A landlord may not publish, circulate, issue, or display, or cause to be published, circulated, issued, or displayed, any communication, notice, advertisement, or sign of any kind relating to the rental or lease of real property that indicates a preference, limitation, or requirement based on any source of income.(3) If a landlord requires that a prospective tenant or current tenant have a certain threshold level of income, any source of income in the form of a rent voucher or subsidy must be subtracted from the total of the monthly rent prior to calculating if the income criteria have been met.(4) A person in violation of this section shall be held liable in a civil action up to four and one-half times the monthly rent of the real property at issue, as well as court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.(5) As used in this section, "source of income" includes benefits or subsidy programs including housing assistance, public assistance, emergency rental assistance, veterans benefits, social security, supplemental security income or other retirement programs, and other programs administered by any federal, state, local, or nonprofit entity.

Here are some related MN state statutes which may help with some of your questions: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/515B 

Still working on the execution, but I'm making progress in a number of areas - education, networking, and building RE related skill-sets.