:) Love to hear about what you've been able to make happen so far and hear about your successes and challenges!

I like the perspective you have in approaching the situation.

He's been flipping real estate since the 60's, and as he got older, landlording became a chore he could no longer handle, nor wanted to hire out, so he approached all his tenants and asked if they wanted to buy the house, with prior rent being applied as a down payment.  

Great idea @Amber Knight I will most likely take this approach with the kidde access points in case a repairman or even my agent need to get in to the property.

Any recommendations on a lender I can approach for this? 

There are many ways to do it, and what works for one will not work for another, so my advice to you is not to take specific advice from people here (especially the ones who inevitably will offer to sell you properties or their services) but rather to keep reading Bigger Pockets, take in as much as you can, connect with and ask questions of the people that look to be experts, challenge assumptions, and discover what is interesting to you. 

They're mostly in rough areas and in rough shape and have some challenging tenants to deal with, to say the least..  

Take this approach instead of giving her a 250K offer and you might have a chance. 

Thank you Jay and Matthew,We had not considered selling but were approached by a chain home builder with a strong offer. 

I don’t know necessarily how I should approach him about the potential his equity has to change the dynamic/financial freedom of our family for generations to come.