Just trying to get a mental picture of how close we are to the limits and what the tax ramifications are once you go over that specific limit you speak about. 

Also I have a keen eye towards land use beyond the typical:Put a building on it to mortgage and create a note/put in a tenant mentality.

I know it does not sound much better but trust me the added stress of having a problem tenant in your property and the mental strain is way worse then just having it sit vacant.

This will take a lot of sacrifice, or after a year you should be nearing 50k, which is probably enough for a down payment on a house in a college town.It sounds like you are mentally on a good path. 

Due to mental illness, [FIRST NAME] has certain limitations regarding [SOCIAL INTERACTION/COPING WITH STRESS/ANXIETY, ETC].

Her son is 30 years old by the way and has some mental issues.

It actually sounds like he is either mentally retarded or playing you. 

It helps to keep physically and mentally at top performance so the benefit I get far outweighs the cost.If someone makes 40k,50k a year then hard to build in those types of items.

Investing "out of state" is really just a mental barrier to entry.

People's mental health is going to start suffering.