My mother's home in Kuna Idaho is free and clear and is listed currently of 415K. 

Can your next house be a duplex or a house with a mother-in-law suite where there isn't people in your house?

Mother deeded over to me some land.

However I do currently have one property under contract which is in the process of probate and issues related to a reverse mortgage that was in place by the deceased mother. 

Everyone and their mother wants a cashflowing asset (me too) but the most wealthiest folks that I know personally have gotten their through the equity/appreciation of their assest over a long period of time.

My mother-in-law passed away 8 years ago and left us (wife and her brother) a house at the beach.  

Many listings do not mention a mother in law suite, so find a realtor ( on Bigger Pockets listings) or elsewhere, who is REI friendly and knowledgeable to find leads.

I am a single mother of three in Houston.

So, ultimate between a realtor and a wholesaler the sellers are only going with the professional that can fix their needs the best (price, condition, situation etc.).Also you dont see a lot of single mothers of 3 buying homes.. unless they divorced their doctor hubby and got a big settlement. what he is describing is the million single mother tenants in America and probably more like 50 million. 

We invest in single-family homes in Southwest Washington (State), and the SFH I'm writing about is located in Vancouver, Washington.We have a tenant (a mother and two high school age children) that have been excellent during their 1 yr lease.