.: Is it legal, per the IRS, to rent my primary home back to myself? 

This part is a foregone conclusion for me, but what I am still working out is next steps.

The REITs are leveraged, but since I am not legally responsible for the debt, I don’t list it as an obligation.Create an LLC to hold title to the property.  

-Legal Protection: A real estate attorney should draft the seller financing agreement to make sure your interests are protected.Final ThoughtsThis might be a pretty awesome first project if you can work out some sort of low-down, seller-financed deal with sweet terms.

If you need financial help, ask under the "Finance, Tax, and Legal" forum.

Certainly nothing ground-breaking in terms of ideas here, however I'll be very hands on (and on site) during the process to make sure that every step of the way is executed to a high standard and very carefully.Once I've hopefully developed a successful track record and gained experience, my next goal would be to move on to commercial assets (think multi-family, industrial etc) so that I can leverage my existing investor network and real estate knowledge to raise 3rd party equity and take on bigger projects.

.: One of the interesting things that occurred in the legal landscape was that in 1978, California's Supreme Court ruled that due on sale clauses in mortgage documents were void "restraints on alienation" and unenforceable unless a lender could show their security was at risk.

In Illinois, when an agent does that, there are functions normally expected of the realtor that they are legally prohibited from doing.

I think this arrangement can suit both parties, he wasnt going to be able to keep the house but can still live there for super cheap.

Mind you, she used a legal aid attorney, so he didn’t cost her anything.