Both of those are temporary, acquisition style products.  

Ill start with the pros.Pros of being a freelancers: Could works past over 40 hours (I was doing 60 hours a week) Made high income vs being an employee Pick my own hours I wanted Worked from homePros of being an employee:Able to qualify for a loan Able to still work at home Secure job Benefits Great companyCon for being a freelancer:Could not qualify for a loan and had to wait 2 yearsPaid my own taxes (I was ok with this though)Could lose my job at anytimeCons for being a employee:Salary Job only (Huge drop of what I was making)If I worked over 40 hours there would be no overtimestill had to pay taxes regardless (not as much but still)Set work hoursThis was a really tough choice for me because it was a lot harder emotionally than what you see from the pros and cons.

Those on temporary layoff also declined, falling by one-third to 6.2 million and well off the high of 18.1 million in April.

I know most of my doubt is based on emotional attachment to the area and it being my first home so maybe having some experts chime in might help.

Could you really make it work if there came an emotional fall out in your relationship?

Come to think of it, since you were paying their mortgage for them, I guess that made you their "sugar daddy" (I was actually thinking of a different candy...on a stick).5 - Owner loses property due to delinquent mortgage payments.6 - You're out $14,400 plus legal (if you actually try to think you can change this result legally).Hope is not a plan, and emotions have no place in REI as a basis for a solution. 

It's a less jarring transition into investing (emotionally and financially, haha). 

If I'm reading the Illinois Rental Property Utility Service Act correctly, it looks like 7 days is required: "This Section does not prohibit temporary utility shutoffs in cases of emergencies such as gas leaks or fire or, upon 7 days written notice to each affected tenant, temporary shutoffs required for building repairs or rehabilitation." 

When they passed (with no will of course) the mortgage payments were $800 per month and I was not in the right place financially or emotionally to take it over.

So you might be significantly lowering your NOI permanently for a temporary fix on total cash flow.Here's another thought.1.