Ok so I️ have a not so normal situation but has huge potential and I’m not quite sure on how to go about it. I️ am about to buy my grandmas house which is currently in a reverse mortgage. She is going to put my name on the title and then gift it to me so I️ don’t have to pay for a down payment . I️ also will get prop 13 which is huge when it comes to taxes. Anyways the property is valued at around 850k right now and I️ am getting it for 630k. The problem is I️ do not make enough to afford the mortgage on my own but I’d like to keep the property because of the location and the opportunity to own a house right by the beach ( Belmont shores in Long Beach ca) other options are to fix it up a bit and try to rent it but I’m not sure if we can rent it for enough to cover the mortgage. Another option was to level it and put up a duplex which will cost about 400k and I️ work with a GC which we would do all the work and his brother has the money to invest into the project to make it happen. I’d like to go the simpler way and just keep it and rent it out and be able to use some of the equity to buy another property or even another home for me and my wife to live in. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

@Monte Dick

Personally for me, leveling the house and turning it into a duplex sounds like a sweet idea. I would consult a local REA to find out what its potential appraisal will be when you do that. However, I would get a good lawyer to set up an airtight contract with the GC. 

The idea of renting it out, I am not a fan of simply because you will not be able to cover the whole mortgage with the rent. The only time I would be ok with the rent covering only a partial amount of the mortgage is if I am house hacking. Just my 2 cents.