If she lives rent-free, you retain control of the property but lose the ability to claim rental-related deductions.For long-term planning, consult a CPA and attorney to ensure compliance with tax rules and align ownership structure with your goals, including potential conversion to a rental or estate planning considerations.

run the numbers including holding costs and you will see why.

After putting about $50k into the property,  I’m just about $25k from meeting my completion goal that includes stucco, drywall, and siding.

I'm also a licensed mortgage broker with a lot of fix-and-flip programs, including some that require as little as 10% down on the purchase price, and provide 100% of the rehab funding.

You must be pretty good friends - most veterans (including myself) would never let a non-veteran assume their loan b/c the VA loan entitlement is not restored until that loan is paid off.  

My aunt wants to do 50/50 on everything including rent.

I'm not sure if any also lend in Canada, but you might want to expand your search to include "non-recourse" just in case it leads to some more options for you.

I've included an example below to help illustrate this.So different lenders have different rates (which do vary even for DSCR loans) but these are factors they all consider.See example below:DSCR < 1Principal + Interest = $1,700Taxes = $350, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $50Total PITIA = $2200Rent = $2000DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2000/2200 = 0.91Since the DSCR is 0.91, we know the expenses are greater than the income of the property.DSCR >1Principal + Interest = $1,500Taxes = $250, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $25Total PITIA = $1875 Rent = $2300DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2300/1875 = 1.23DSCR lenders generally let you vest either individually or as an LLC.

I would send a lease violation notice that advises the tenant that they have violated the no smoking provision of the lease and that it needs to be cured immediately - to include complying (not smoking) and remove any odor/damage that may have resulted.

I think 1) 10 years that includes recovery from GFC and the Covid pandemic is not a long enough duration2) I think for those 10 years, 100% is not that special3) I think many Midwest markets did not experience the appreciation you depict.There are Midwest markets that have pretty good long term appreciation but there are also many Midwest markets that have appreciation that has not historically kept up with inflation.