Hi Otis,Self-Directed IRAs (SDIRAs) can be a great tool for funding real estate deals, especially for private money deals.

Motivated sellers and distressed properties are more likely to surface.Creative Financing: Higher interest rates are opening doors to strategies like seller financing or subject-to deals, where you can secure more favorable terms directly from sellers.Shift in Buyer Preferences: With work-from-home trends still influencing housing demand, suburban and secondary markets are seeing strong growth.

Can anyone point me in a direction to start?

Direct mail to this address for 8 months.

great resource; appreciate the direction :) 

>>For purposes of taxes, consult with a CPA to confirm this would work for your situation, but you could have the LLC be treated as a "disregarded entity" and thus, even if you and your wife are members, any profits/losses would "disregard" the LLC and go directly on your personal returns. 

Have you considered moving those funds into a self-directed IRA (SDIRA)?

The biggest employer shut down about a year ago and 3  hurricanes (2 major) hit directly in the last year.

Finding good STR's can be a niche market, so it's a good idea to find an agent that is familiar with STR so they can point you in the right direction for zoning, good markets, etc. 

You can surely buy cheaper properties and obtain the same debt pay-down, but now you've got 5x the head-ache, so right asset class is more about efficiency when it comes to debt pay-down.Tax shielding is similar concept in that more expensive properties directionally give you more building basis to depreciate, which means less net income to tax.