I bought my first couple of personal residences by negotiating a price, and then submitting a written offer that increased that amount by the amount of the projected closing costs.The advantage, assuming the house appraises for the higher price, is that it is no skin off the seller's nose, and it allows you to effectively roll the closing costs into your mortgage.The disadvantage is a lot of lenders are wise to this, and limit the amount of "Seller Concessions."  

That is also by design as the REI or guru bunch have a second class and a third and a forth........guess what, you never learn real estate you learn investor folklore.Trying to follow some system puts you at a real disadvantage.

The disadvantage is that you alone, must make sure you stay in compliance with the IRS rules as well as the larger cost to set it up (usually $2500-$3000).Charles,Not sure what confusion you are referring to as far as SD 401k or SDIRA.

Now, I'm not sure exactly how marriage will fall into this, but it might be wise to seek the council of good tax and/or financial advisor - there may be certain tax advantages based upon when you purchase the properties in relationship to which tax year you get married and there may be certain advantages/disadvantages to purchasing property jointly vs individually. 

If they declined you based on something that's a protected class, they can be in very hot water.If they declined your offer because you're not disadvantaged enough, you're probably out of luck. 

Perhaps its to my disadvantage, but I don't deals that don't cash flow, however, I also like deals that have potential upside, like poorly managed and under preforming properties.  

Dodd-Frank is pretty clear -- if you're not using an MLO and you have to foreclose, you're going to be at a big disadvantage in the legal system. 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

There are advantages and disadvantages to both routes.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both.