His mother is going into an assisted living facility and needs to sell...all they are looking for is to pay off the mortgage owed (about $108K) I would prefer not to come out of pocket to satisfy in full b/c i have other projects going on and i'm a bit cash strapped until they close.

In the past I have done my own taxes, but in 2016 I sold my deceased mother's home and purchased a rental property at the end of the year (no income source for 2016, just expenditures).  

First off, would it be possible for my mother to rent the home out even with a lien from the IRS on it?

This may be more of a question for an accountant or an attorney, but this community is great, so I am hoping somebody has some wisdom to pass on.My mother owns a vacation home in Michigan that myself and 3 siblings will eventually inherit. 

I have a similar setup, a large 4br home with an accessory or mother in law quarters in the back with a private entrance for both.

Over the years, my mother 'gave' the property to my brother and I and about 7 years ago, my brother created a partnership to make the ownership legal.

I have no direct experience with REI, with exception to providing consultation to a recently concluded family situation between my Mother [the landlord] and my Uncle [the renter] (a life lesson worth sharing later).

The seller answered my first batch of direct mail to tax-delinquent owners and wants to "move on and start fresh" from her childhood home she just inherited from her mother.

The best offer I had last year when it was still rented was $130K, pre-qualified from a mother who works at Target Store.

That being said just, there are much more economical situations to rent for a single mother/student; and I'm uneasy about their understanding of what's best for them financially to correctly judge what they can handle?