You tie her house up, with no ability or intention to buy it yourself if you cannot find a buyer?  

Departmental accounting can be used, for example, a store may break down departments, ladies wear, men's ware, shoes, sporting goods, etc.

I eventually had to drop the price to $275,000 and it sold within weeks for a grand total of about $3,000 profit in exchange for tying money up for a long time...Fail! 

She has no emotional ties to the property and wants to just get rid of it.

No seller ever wants to tie up their property to someone that can't close.

Maybe they think tying up the borrower is security.

Thank you very much to Josh Dorkin & Brandon and to everyone who has helped make this site a tremendous resource for someone in my shoes!  

I think this ties in well with Tom Stanley's Out Patient care theory, that the more money / cash gifts that the adult child receives from his / her wealthy parents, the less likely he or she will be economically productive and financially independent as an adult.

Last thing you want to do is tie up your time and resources into something that runs afoul with the city.

If I were in your shoes, I would recommend renting or saving up more money and moving somewhere you find more comfortable.