HelloIf you are looking for downpayment assistance you can get gifts from charitable organizations as defined by HUD.LLC for a primary residence would likely require quit claiming and that puts you at risk for the lender to call the loan and require it to be paid immediately

Mortgage is still in name of original owner but they did a grant deed to transfer title 2 years agoMy main issue is it looks like the “new” owner bought the property via a charitable corporation and then subsequently granted the property to their LLC (same person runs both).

You forget the investment in business that would happen, the charitable giving as well as the follow on spending in the economy.

So letting her stay at the reduced rent may be charitable, but it doesn't make sense, in my opinion.I would at the very least do what @Marcia Maynard  and @Roy N.  

Businesses can be for-profit entities or non-profit organizations that operate to fulfill a charitable mission or further a social cause.

Expenses for the building as a whole - insurance, property taxes, a utility bill that is not separately metered, etc.At the end of the year, my clients give me the data broken out as above and I work the calculations (generally based on square footage) to get an appropriate percentage for the shared expenses, the direct rental expenses and your personal expenses that are not deductible now (but might be later, if you move out and rent your unit).So while you don't need formal bookkeeping, you do need a way to keep those expenses organized - kind of like how you do for your charitable contributions or other specific tax deductions.As for your questions:-Would non-structural improvements to the unit I'm living in (I.e. updating appliances, flooring, etc.) be on a reduced depreciation schedule, or would it all fall under the 27.5 year schedule of the property?

I hope to be a position one day to follow in your steps.I can give you a few charitable non-profits than my wife and I volunteer for, but is there a certain area you and your wife would prefer to focus on, such as children, animals, the homeless, the unemployed, etc.?

Another question on Charitable contributions. 

I really get the sense that they are good people who have done well in RE, and want to help others do well in RE (and also do charitable giving with some proceeds).

If our cash flow can keep us from drawing from our retirement funds as much, we can use the savings to create legacy wealth for family or charitable entities.