With regard to renovations, I always suggest taking incremental steps to bigger renovations or partnering with someone who has already done a renovation at that level.I've been known to just go for the big rehabs for my personal investments here in Chicago , and during that process, it's always more stressful than it needs to be...As far as navigating the competition, I've found the best thing I can do is get EXTREMELY CLEAR  on what I am looking for; then I am confident pulling the trigger quicky. 

Dumb question - but are these auctions online only, or in-person? 

Fast forward 2 years his landlord mentioned in passing he might sell the property; I was the first person on his mind.

I'll let others chime in on their experiences, but from a motivational perspective, I think attending live events and getting the "conference high" is something that only happens through in-person connections and being in the same room with investors who are eagerly pursuing their real estate/financial goals. 

I bought this property with a private interest free loan from a friend. the person i bought it from need cash fast so i offered them a low cash offer and they accepted.I had enough money saved up to rehab the house with my savings.

Did you end up flying and looking in person in the area?

Keep in mind, you can’t use personal funds or your home's equity to directly fund the SDIRA investment, and all property expenses must be paid from the IRA.

Unfortunately, this problem waste a lot of my time that could be spent on other investments.I have used the same tax professional for many years and he is very educated, but also much older than me and it's hard for me to understand all the reasons he has expressed why is better to put the rental on my personal tax returns.

I spent many years managing myself and personally collecting rent checks. 

Quote from @Adam Macias: Wholesaling as it is today will be a thing of the past.It’ll truly be strange to even hear people and gurus trying to make big money off it.The more people try wholesaling but then end up not having an end buyer or cancelling contracts or trying weird things like novations, the more all of real estate will be regulated and cause requirements like licensing to be able to transact more than just your personal resident purchase.Which I don't know why hasn't happened sooner.Here's all the states (in red or yellow) requiring a license to wholesale or at least have started the process:Credit: REITipsterI think licensing and regulation is a beautiful thing that should happen if you plan to be an wholesaler and do more than one deal... which is going to be the case for anyone taking this business seriously.Or even it being regulated to need a real estate agent to do more than one deal outside of buying a personal residence.I've had plenty of failed attempts with agents in pursuit of wholesale deals and I know exactly why, it's not because the agent couldn't find me deals, it's just not practical to think there's opportunity for the numbers a wholesaler needs to make a profit on top of everyone else needing to these days.Because the only sellers who truly can sell at a deep enough discount are usually those who ran out of time and just didn't do something sooner with their situation.I know many coaches and gurus will disagree with me but there’s no regulations on youtube gurus and what they teach either.If we look at the current state of the market in hot cities, the availability of online resources to the average homeowner, how many deals can you possibly believe are available at 70% of ARV?