I assume the aunt and nephew are mother and son; if that is the case it's likely they will want to stay since it's tough to find accommodations that are close yet separate. 

We think we've found a great way to start but the odd situation has quite a few hurdles.There is a property across from my mother's house that has been abandoned for 10ish years.

I was just in a yoga class...and before my class I overheard a woman talking to a man about her mother and how her mother was wanting to sell her house and she was upset about it.

My mother has a rental property in the Sugarhouse area.

Some back drop: My mother lives in Paterson and has been for most or more than my adult life.

If you didn't go multifamily and sharing space in a SFH is a bother, you could look for a value-add opportunity SFH which may allow for conversion to duplex (requires market research and working with city), or a layout which may give a more separated feeling (like mother-in law suite, etc.) and apply the house-hacking concepts to this.Don't rush yourself into a bad deal, but I would say getting in when your passion is building for real estate and you feel the time is right to take action and execute.

We demanded a business license and he then admitted that the company was now under his mother's name.

Well one of the things I like to ask myself is would I put my mother in this house when I am done with?

I dont think Trump would let freeloading mothers in laws to stay without rent.   

I have a friend whose mother recently passed away.