Unfortunately the newspaper ads generally have a law firm that the deed was assigned to. 

If she wants to give money as a gift that’s fine, just do it below the gift exclusion for tax purposes, but taking a loan is probably a bad idea

The former is active business income, and the latter is not business income, and is also sheltered by the section 121 exclusion, assuming you meet the requirements.

@Julian Pilate-Hutcherson We work almost exclusively with OOS investors and it's a mixed bag...I sold 3 MF properties this month to folks that have never been to the state...and I have another set of clients that have been in the market for months and make routine visits to the city...I think it has a lot to do with comfort-level...truth told, we can leverage technology and get every possible detail on the table for review to make a pretty informed buy/pass decision...combined with an inspection and appraisal, there is really no need to be here in person looking at deals....

And you've got the extra whammy that it is your father's primary so if you buy it he will get the proceeds tax free with the primary residence exclusion. 

@Tom Tran For your own valuation purposes, i would consider any exclusives in the center and consider what kind of tenant you could put in.

I know anytime I'm advertising a property or my services as an RE agent I must do this, but curious how it works when you are marketing exclusively as an investor. 

I’m really asking if many do ‘video’ showings exclusively?

I use exclusively airbnb right now for our 8 listings at a ski resort, and keep really high occupancy.

If examples are presented keep asking for explanations until you know exactly what was done and why.When my kids were in college and had no idea what they wanted to do after graduation, I suggested they look at the Sunday newspaper Employment Display ads section.