Im a registered Nurse with close to $31,000 in my savings account.

Or single family homes with mother in suites/separate entrances?

One huge plus for us is that we have a great health care system and an aging population so there will always be a demand for healthcare workers, because of this we have many traveling nurses and doctors that move here and rent for a few years. 

That family member convinced her mother, the previous trustee, to let her stay in the property until she found a new place. 15 years later and over $300K of her personal funds sunk into the carriage house later and she is still there in a remodeled carriage house.She doesn't want to move and is now co-trustee with another family member that does want to liquidate the house and distribute the assets.

I’m in the process of buying my mother’s house.

"Due diligence is the mother of good luck" according to Ben Franklin (even though he never owned a mobile home park).

Is there any strategy to preserve the equity in my mother's home that would not be undone by the 5 year Medicaid look back?

Maybe the investment is better rented to traveling nurses or students?

I also work part time at a small laser optics company.My real estate experience is limited in terms of buying and selling, but my mother has been a licensed real estate salesperson for 17 years so I did grow up in the business.

We here refers to my mother and I, where my mother is the main borrower.