Over the summer I decided that i no longer wanted to rent and would like owning a home to be my next step.., however, i have shifted my mindset and would like to not just buy a liability (the first home) but would like to create an asset via house hacking.

@Christopher HallYou have already taken a huge first step by acknowledging you have a problem with debt and taking steps to learn how to move forward.

If he did then your mother has a stepped up basis for tax purposes, but you need to find out. 

I tried to be pro-active and have them check ahead of time, but they don't do that.

The only step is putting it into the qualified opportunity fund and making your election to defer paying tax.

You will need to have access to MLS for this step since you will need to see all the terms of the purchase of the properties (if there were seller concessions, etc.) and in order to see the condition and quality notes (C3, C4, Q4, Q3, etc)  So the closer the comparables are to your home in condition, square footage, year built, BR/Ba, ans date sold the better it is for your case.And just for a quick info point using comparables that were built around your build date are fine. 

My family has been investing in commercial real estate for as long as I can remember with a huge amount of success. I’m now wanting to get into the business as well. However, my grandparents are the ones who started i...

They find their way under the roof and will raise a family there to your tenant's annoyance as they will make a lot of noises (especially in the middle of the night when everything is quiet) Step (1) Get traps laid. in the attic for 2-3 weeks atleast  Step (2) Seal and caulk all openings

And what's my next step?

If my tennant buyer would like to exercise option to buy what is the next step I should do?