For a few thousand dollars in rent, it is worth the call.If you don't get satisfaction there, credit card companies are regulated via The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Keep in mind the potential for higher renovation costs due to older properties and the local landlord-tenant laws.Good luck! 

I would like a payoff planner that helps me navigate the various maturity dates and interest rates of my (15 due in 5) mortgages so that I gain the best financial advantage when paying down principal balances. 

@Curtis Cutler Avoid cashing out your 401(k)/457 to minimize taxes and penalties, potentially up to 40%.

Look up the courses taught by Justin Kivel, specifically the Pro forma modeling course and the real estate financial modeling boot camp.

Letting Go for Your Bottom Line: A Lesson for Real Estate InvestorsHey BiggerPockets Community,If you’re a real estate investor, whether you own rental properties, flip houses, or manage syndications, there’s a critical lesson that could boost your bottom line: Letting Go.Many of us get into real estate because we want control over our financial future.

Most of us get paid a percentage of the rent so a reduction is not benefitting them financially.

But consider this: if your time is worth $100/hour and you spend 40 hours a year on tasks you could outsource for $25/hour, you’re effectively losing $3,000 of potential value each year. 

At that time we could renovate the ground floor apartment and potentially turn it into (2) apartments for a total of (5).My questions come down to how do we deal with the existing 40k mortgage, whether we can make it work so her parents aren't paying much in rent, if anything at all, and whether or not we set up any legal entity, like a trust to help the legal situation of paying off her sister down the road. 

So, they could potentially buy another house later on.