Like to determine if I am right or wrong.

They are not partners, I am simply using their capital to help seed my hard money loan and/or for repairs.I would like to hear what returns other investors are giving their family members on these types of deals. 

What should I be asking to extract all of the pertinent information that will determine if it is actually a deal?

Any insight you have on determining whether a house is truly a tear down, or experiences with 203k financing falling through would be much appreciated!

I would simply remind them there are 4 ways to make money in real estate - appreciation, cash flow, taxes, and mortgage principal pay down.

This however gives you 1/2 ownership, a will or inheritance would determines what happens to her half upon her death.

@Harrison CookYour post kindles lots of questions.In the "good old-days" most heating systems were vastly oversized for the building they were heating - energy was relatively cheap, insulation was non-existant to poor ... so it was easier and safer to {drastically} oversize.Today, while energy {in North America}  is still relatively cheap for the moment,  we have a much better understanding of how to make buildings more efficient {though you might not think so looking at the construction industry in the U.S.A. and Canada}  and there are often more cost-effective measures than simply replacing an old, over-sized heating plant with a new, over-sized heating plant.You really need to - or at lease should -  perform a heat load analysis to properly size your heating system, a component of which, is determining the rate of heat loss of the building envelope.  

Zillow is operating with data and a strong market influence that the public simply does not have.

Last, you could get a loan or line of credit against your portfolio of properties, this could be called a portfolio line of credit or simply a business line of credit.In terms of mentors in Philadelphia, I have mentored a few people in the area and would be happy to help.

   $4200/yr / $35,000 investment = 12% COC return - 12% is achievable if you know what your doing. )Then you quite simply need to divide the total required income by the monthly house income to determine how many houses you need: $41,000/ monthly income / 350/mo/house = 117 SFH'sI imagine your reaction is something like this:"Okay.