Wife and I are both self-employed so acquiring a traditional mortgage is challenging based on our "on paper" income.

Depending on your new job as a 1099/self employed, there are likely other loan options available that can work.

I recently attended a webinar, Master your Rentals: Save Money and Time with effective Self-management.  

They specialized in concrete tilt up, but did a lot of time and materials work for a self made real estate tycoon who owned a lot of Federal Way.Along the way I got my CPA license and practiced in several differing sectors including doing some work with low income housing projects.As far as my start in RE, it was with buying my first personal SFR and later moving to a new residence. 

Knowing where you stand at all times means you can scale confidently and with precisionI’d love to hear from you!

In my case, I have residential rentals in one LLC, commercial properties in another, self-storage in a third, and my real estate company operates in a fourth.

Glad to hear that you are using Equity Trust already as they happen to be our official partner for self directed IRAs. :) It sounds like you are looking for a specific investment opportunity? 

After the appreciation we have been experiencing post 2022 and what we have been witnessing the last 2+ years its hard to pick a spot and be confident on appreciation.

If you pay the $250 and they say it's all perfectly glued and installed schedule 80 then you're going to have confidence without worry.

Learn the area, meet other investors at meet-ups and one-on-one conversations, and once you feel more confident, you can make a purchase to live in.