I’m from eastern NC originally as well.

The sent out this middle aged eastern European dude that hand dug 10 or 12 post holes under my house and the re supported everything with steel instead of wood beams as were there originally.

I plan to attend a conference (business related) that is 2800 miles round trip.

I would strongly suggest if that is the case that you confer with a licensed tax attorney and not rely on the guidance of an IRA custodian. 

Just curious if anyone could offer their own data or suggestions on a resource where I could get an example of rental trend for the last 10 years, for a typical 3/2 1400 sqft in Eastern Memphis (Cordova, Bartlett, 31833).

Being an NJ native and simply loving the state and the North Eastern parts proximity to NYC, I have started my search with a deal in northern NJ.

I was actually planning on doing it via video conference, but in person would be cool too. 

I am in the Eastern Panhandle of WV and only about 1.5 hours from DC.

Conferences are overpriced and are usually just to be ignored, you'll get 100x more from your local real-estate groups. 

If your location small then I would think about maybe travelling to a conference somewhere in a big city where you can make connections.