Does the existing paperwork that has the old owner on it transfer to me or do I need to prepare a copy of that lease and have everyone sign so it's "legal"?

There may be some sort of a partnership or other legal agreement that would make your family able to provide a down payment, satisfy the bank, not require fraud, and not run afoul of the tax man.

Any recommendations for good online RE school would be really appreciated.

BP is a great tool for networking online...may not help as much with investors in your area, but it's a massive network.

Then I also have asset protection that limits liability to each property and other layers of legal protection that makes it unattractive for a lawyer to try to pursue anything with my business structures.

I've been looking at property online to get a feel for the market and see a lot of mfh listed for 140 to 200~ in my area. 

I had read some articles online that even in joint tenancy, where multiple people own and are on title of a property, only the individual(s) legally obligated to the debt (i.e. named on the mortgage note) can deduct the mortgage related expenses (interest).

Taking that into account, here we go:I've never met an online, computer generated comp that I've liked.

The ending should read ****THIS is not legal of advice. please consult an attorney.

Not sure how you got your credit score but your online credit score isn't necessarily the same score the bank will see.