With that said, does it make more sense to form two separate LLC's, one in his name and one in mine, with equal ownership into a separate partnership?

Then I mentioned that that house was for currently for sale and that ownership did not match their name "can you tell me who you purchased the house from?"

What plumbing costs have you incurred or was the plumbing already updated by the time you came into ownership of the properties?

My relative has taken awesome care of the house, so it would need cosmetic touches most likely, nothing more substantial, and we'd have a complete and honest history of the capex over the past 30 years of ownership. 

Take the ownership papers for the house to court with you to show she is not on the ownership.

In short, its my opinion of the street's "pride of ownership" expressed through a number.  

The aggregate amount of IRA distributions taken by an IRA owner that may be treated as qualified first-time homebuyer distributions cannot exceed a lifetime limit of $10,000.A first-time homebuyer is an individual (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) that had no present ownership interest in a principal residence during the two-year period ending on the date of acquisition of the principal residence (IRC Sec. 72(t)(8)(D)(i)(I)).

You can form an LLC like others have suggested but any form of equity means they will share ownership in the property - so this becomes more like a partnership than a lender-borrower relationship.

And like the dot com, energy, and housing bubble before, because of the 'rush to the new' among their purveyors and purchasers alike - and , because of its sheer mass and lack of oversight, this sector again has the potential to tank the economy - taking with it our basic fundamental strengths:  legitimate investment funding, business expansion, jobs; and leaving general economic wreckage in its wake - unemployment, massive and increasing debt, rising government welfare and other social remedy costs,  and yes - tanked home construction and ownership.

Equity piece looks good- Seller needs 2 things equity and motivation in order to do the deal I would definitely include Ownership: I chose over 4 years.