You might then be comfortable conveying to a buyer with a general warranty deed and  an owner's title policy for the sale price.  

Your goal should be to learn the process, learn your market and get comfortable with dealing with sellers. 

I am crushed thinking we have to move after he has become comfortable and safe with his surroundings.  

Had I not joined I would've probably not have stepped out of my comfort zone and started this journey.

On one of my current deals HUD requested my bank to confirm that they actually have pulled my credit score - it's calles a comfort letter and gives the seller more certainty that the deal will go through.

Mike,Comfort Masters is a great bet for the North end of the Eastern Shore (Cecil and Kent County). 

I chose these areas because they are close to me and i most comfortable there, but i honestly am a little stuck on how to determine if these areas are "up and coming" areas that are good places to invest in. 

@Bil Casimir  you can "help" your Mom's IRA BUT you can not accept a dime for doing so, you can not benefit personally in ANY manner, nor can you manage her IRA or IRA/LLC for the reasons @Dmitriy Fomichenko  stated above.In general though, your Mom's SDRA can and may want to setup an IRA/LLC for which she can play with Real Estate and manage her own LLC, on behalf of her SDRA, as needed for asset protection.You mom's SDRA can invest in another LLC so long as there are no disqualified individuals in the same LLC with a controlling interest.With all that said, if YOU want to play in her retirement sandbox...then she may be able to form an S-Corp on her own, do a reverse IRA Rollover to a new 401k sponsored by her S-Corp and then loan another LLC, or fund her an LLC that you and her are part of, or just your LLC, the money for the Real Estate...whichever way you all feel comfortable with.This is very important to get right...so don't hold weight to any forum post or opinion, consult the professionals in your local area for further guidance.

Focus on providing an atmosphere where they are comfortable to ask questions and engage in all the things that you know.

If you're not so certain about hitting your target and your equity partner (understands these risks and) is comfortable with the deal based on the upside, then personally I would go this route and avoid a possible tough situation with hard money lender.