If YOU have good credit, I would highly recommend selling your mom's primary residence, unless you know it's a killer rental.

Chris - let me know if you come across any killer deals.

I will do that,  I assume you mean It’s a killer due to the cost of setting up another furnace, switching to natural gas, splitting up the system into two zones etc.  

Also, if you have multiple companies not only is it an efficiency killer, but you could be losing out on discounts as well.Typically it depends on the type of claim that you have made. 

If you would burn it on fast cars and killer vacations, you would be better off (financially) paying off what you have.

I ended up just taking the commission (yes I have to pay income taxes on it and some of it went to my brokerage) which for me was not an issue as I am trying to show more income on my taxes to qualify for future loans.I imagine your lender would have to agree to using your commission as part of your downpayment.If you can go FHA 3.5 down and get max seller assist and get your commission as an agent it's a killer way to buy an owner occupied property for very very little money out of pocket.

HOA fees are the real killer they destroy cash flow and when it comes to entry level condos it usually ends up being the lower the price the higher the HOA fee.

Bleach isn’t a mold killer, most mold treatment products have ammonia.

Heck, I just emailed some of my clients a killer deal in my market yesterday that was not on the MLS and none of them would have seen it had they not reached out to me in the first place. 

I save $ by doing the work myself5. keep in mind your debt to income ratio, banks want to know if you can afford to pay them back6. know what adds value to your home and the comps in the area7. make a killer deal happen, don't shy away from rejection , make sure the numbers make sense, enjoy the journey of real estate , love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life Good luck to you!