Which means that they pay you a down payment and you finance the properties to them.

This reduces your housing payment and helps you build equity. 

The substantial cash need for large down payment or all cash that most others don't have .

Based on the CU's loan calculator, we can finance that over 60 months for a $320 payment. 

A line of credit won’t commit you to a monthly payment unless you use the money, so you can avoid paying interest when it’s not in use.

But my down payment 3 years ago is only 10% of the total price $42K.

.- get into real estate with a lower rate and lesser percentage down payment.

Stuff like if want us to do CRP, or if have us send someone to "babysit" and watch a vendor Landlord hired from Craiglist and doesn't trust. yeah, had that happen before.

Simply gifting him half the property now wouldn’t immediately allow him to claim the exclusion without fulfilling this residency requirement, I don't believe.One thought would be to use a HELOC to pull just enough equity out of the current home and use it to buy a smaller home, or at least the down payment.

How long have you owned these, and how much is rent vs the payment?