Outside of work, I’m an avid traveler that has visited 54 countries (and love hearing travel tips), a martial arts fan with black belts in two martial arts, and I read a book every week (and always love good reading suggestions).How did I get involved with real estate?

Handling situations with grace, professionalism, and integrity even though the other party may not will still rest well with you because you know you went about it the right way. 

@Joshua Dorkin, @Brandon Turner, @Dave Van Horn, @Mindy Jensen,  and whoever else at BP is involved in publishing -- Amazon.com offers a fantastic service called WhisperSync that coordinates the Kindle ebook with the Audible audio edition of the same book. 

Now, the tricky part is that the mom has told my wife the house is hers but she has not signed the deed over and still controls the property.

Welcome @Robb Chamberlain,It's good to see more locals getting involved in real estate investing.

You will need a deed of trust and note - both are on the site.This should help with the family members comfort too, as they are state approved docs - best part is they are free! 

Turnkey can be a very good way to get started for an investor with little time to be more involved. 

Best part is you'll only be 33 (still young as can be).Just food for thought man.

Yes, there plenty of risks, bur before you even look at the risk involved, you will need to see if your house is zoned for a business such as a day care.This could be a problem in of itself...Chris

Are there custodians that take care of the first part as well so I don't have to deal with 2 parties?