Transferring home ownership from an aging parent

Looking to get advice around passing a home down through the family, while taking care of an aging loved one.

My Mom is 68 and beginning to experience cognitive decline. She lives alone on a mountain in upstate New York. Unfortunately, she has very little in savings and is living off of the social security she’s getting, but really just barely scraping by.

However, she does own and live in a small home in Woodstock, NY, a very desirable location. A few years ago, while she was living in CA, she rented the cottage out on AirBnB, and has 100+ 5-star reviews. It’s a nice place, and people love it!

…when it isn’t falling apart, that is.

The home is on a mountain, currently has mold issues and needs a new roof. It needs all sorts of renovation, and we *think* the mold actually might be the reason for her cognitive decline. Since she has no money, she can’t afford to repair the house. Since she has no money, she can’t afford to get out of the house and over to California, where my brother lives and she wants to be, a place she’d be much happier—dealing with snow and ice on a mountaintop when you’re getting old and living alone is not ideal, so we’re looking for ways to get her out of there.

One way is for her to sign her house over to my brother and I (or sell it to us for $1?) so we can refinance the home loan, maybe take some equity out to fund the renovations, and get the house back on AirBnB. We believe that if she has no assets, she would qualify for assisted living in CA, which would be incredibly helpful for her.

If you’ve read this far, thank you! We’re looking for advice—what’s the best way to transfer a home down the family, and fund the needed renovations? Alternatively, we could just sell the house, but we’d probably prefer to keep it for now, as it’s a great cottage in a great location with great potential. It just needs some love (as does my Mom!).

Thanks guys for your help!