I have a judgement worth a few thousand I will never collect on.But I learned this is a business and must be run like a business and that means super levels of customer service served up with a total intolerance for serious lease violations ecspecially non payment of rent, creating a neighborhood disturbance, etc....Don’t misunderstand, I want the tenants to enjoy the home and if that means a little extra wear and tear from kids, a garden in the yard, some extra painting when the tenant departs, my efforts to send repair teams same day or quickly for service at my expense, that’s fine... but the lease terms and conditions for payment and local and state law compliance are the lease terms and conditions and they should be adhered to consistently, by all parties.

Best to first check the website, if it's the city of Atlanta: Atlanta zoningIf you have further questions, most jurisdictions have a "City Planning" department which zoning is part of, pay them a visit.

The only people that know who owns property is then IRS and state tax department.

Whereas these accessory units were frowned upon in years past by the zoning/planning departments in the tonier towns in the Bay Area, many are now coming to the realization that they can best preserve their character and increase available housing stock by permitting current owners to set up ADU's on their properties. 

If she prevents you from coming back in, some police departments will do a civil standby and/or come out and explain to your mom that she can’t just kick you out like that if you lived there. 

We planned to pull the permits ourselves to renovate the bathroom and kitchen, however, only after we paid for the permit the building department is requiring a CSL since we planned to remove sheetrock and the state of Massachusetts does not recognize us the homeowners since we have no intent to live there. 

How many hours have I spent talking to laborers/contractors/building inspectors/Fire Chiefs/ Highway department people?

Our lawyer will do title check, husband has already been to the town's office, checked the card, spoken with the building department about the building. 

You'll also need to familiarize yourself with the building department of your city/county as it sounds like this place is stripped to the studs and joists or you will probably have to rip it down to studs and joists and rebuild the entire thing.

Best bet is to gather details and then call the property value assessment department.