I don't have personal experience with it, but when the app was first developed, I contacted the developer and put the app through a fairly robust test usage to see if it's something I would want to recommend to my clients (I'm a CPA).I think the app is great for its intended purpose and I do recommend it to my clients now (and have for about 18 months now). 

They had said that they would take care of any foreclosure issues and that it would be fairly hands off.

Thank you for taking the time to do a deep dive. 2% home appreciation was also a fairly low estimate, it looks like in that area it is actually around 5-6%.

Your property is fairly destruction proof, costs near nothing to maintain, yet you can charge above market rents.If your property is nicer (class B) where the carpet alone might be $6k or more to replace when the tenant spills hair dye everywhere, you won't be as happy as in the situation above.  

@Jason Burkart To maximize tax benefits, consider buying the property as a rental and leasing it to your mother at fair market value (FMV).

CoStar) to understand the rental market (rent amounts, absorbtion rate, etc..) but that service is fairly expensive. 

Being fairly new to land lording I felt the need to gather a bit more insight from other seasoned professional with how to proceed, but you're absolutely right. 

You can't go to Vegas and expect to be reimbursed for your gambling losses.

My state is very fair to landlords, but there's no way to win this scenario.

You're feeding 2 dogs with one biscuit by taking care of your living expenses and generating rental income at the same time, and by living in the house and keeping it to 4, you generally get exemptions on things that might bother you to live with (IE you can choose whomever you want as your tenants without running afoul of fair housing laws).