Question....what are ways to transfer or get NPC's money, I know one way, but are there better ways?

Wasn't there a "familyfunds" cheat? Or is that Sims 3. I forget.

There's always "motherlode", that's a quick 50,000 bucks. I can't remember if that can be used from the neighbourhood screen. The screen where you select which family you want to play with.

For housing you can use the "freerealestate" cheat. It ignores the cost of a furnished or unfurnished house, so your newly-minted family of Sims can move into a nice place with 20k or more in the bank. If your objective is funds for moving into a nice house, then this is a method of removing the housing cost from the equation.