I am managing my Mother in law's home that she has leased to a tenant for 1 yr.

Its essential you learn your local laws and practices.Hopefully you mean that comment jokingly.

And TX law prohibits home equity loans greater than 80% of appraised value.

I was told the reason evictions can take months is that landlords will attempt to do evictions on their own, and forget to cross a few t's and dot a few i's, or otherwise not follow the law properly.Although several hundred dollars seems extreme compared to $30 or so on your own, an experienced eviction attorney can get the job done quickly and relatively painlessly.

Do learn and follow your states usury laws.

I was just wondering if there was anyone out there doing these kind of deals in Massachusetts and if there are any state specific laws or regulations I should know about.

Of course, you need to know your local laws.

If I understand correctly, CA landlord/tenant law is very pro-tenant.

However elected officials are elected they should be bound by the Constitution in all matters as being above all other laws.

These are all good opinions and remember they are just that opinions and not a law to follow.