REPS stands for Real Estate Professional Status—a tax designation that lets real estate investors write off rental losses (like depreciation and expenses) against other income, potentially saving a lot on taxes.

It’s an excellent bookkeeping, accounting, and rent collection tool specifically designed for landlords and investors.

A big part of guest experience is design and functionality of the home.

Don't have to be on the deed even to declare it your homestead.It may be splitting hairs, and I may have been unclear in my initial post, but I believe homestead laws are designed in part to protect non-title holding spouses, so if the new wife moves into her husband's house he cannot sell or mortgage without the wife's consent nor can it be forced to be sold to pay involuntary creditors (as opposed to voluntary creditors such as mtg/DOT lenders). 

It's a change but as you mentioned you don't want to down grade the property to a single family, but maintain the 2-family designation.

An IDGT is a type of irrevocable trust that treats the grantor as the trust owner for income tax purposes (they pay the income taxes for the trust during their lifetime), but the assets contributed to the trust (a completed gift for tax purposes) are not included in the gross estate of the grantor at their death.

Please note the information provided below is a layman's definition designed to provide a basic understanding for the general audience.

BiggerPockets is full of resources designed to help you along your journey, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned investor.

BiggerPockets is full of resources designed to help you along your journey, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned investor.

We were going to start gifting them money to help cover those expenses when the idea came up of buying their house to give them a cash infusion.