At the end of the day a couple of things come into play:What is the state of their business?

City of LA has 7 classes of inspectors, one for electrical, one for plumbing, one for framing, etc. they can't go together in one day as well.

I think at the end of the day, a talk with a Real Estate Attorney would be the best start, but I wanted to make sure that should be my first step and maybe some confirmation that this indeed could work before I start contacting RE AttorneysAnyone?

My first day as a Realtor, I met around ten agents and brokers plus another twenty consumers looking to buy/sell within three months.

For some, the commute time could itself count toward the work day as work is done while the car drives itself.

At the end of the day, a buyer agent is free so why not utilize them as a resource?

At the end of the day, a 5% conventional is always better than a 3.5% FHA due to the PMI.

I am planning on buying it through my self directed IRA with a non-recourse loan. 5.5% interest rate, 5/1 interest only ARM, 30 year term with prepayment penalty first 36 months.I will have property management for day to day as required by SDIRA. 

But the other day a guy in my group scored one for $500.  

Sounds overall like a pretty bad idea.As someone who works with older adults and their adult kids all day as a home health provider, this sounds like this is something your friend is interested in more than his mother and he is looking for validation from someone for her to be an avenue for him to pursue REI.