I'm a retired engineer and have been successfully using income from these houses to support my retirement without dipping into retirement savings.I'm transitioning my business from rentals to a franchise and would consider selling one of my houses (5 br/4 ba - the other houses my son while he's still attending).

And, again, eventually a strong business model/niche will show its numbers and then everyone will be doing it.

Yes, operations is a big part of that, especially for anyone that wants to be a business for the long-term.If I were you, I would be talking to office brokers about partnering more than an online forum.   

Seems like a pretty straightforward way to do business.

However, an LLC can be used to open a business bank account.

Paul and Special Financing Company both  promised they would take care of this by December 27th and then just today in the mail I got two letters saying that they had transferred my loan to another company...That is the most insane thing I have ever encountered in all the years of dealing with shady businesses on the internet-!!!!

Bigger Pockets is a great place to find a real estate tax accountant.A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

Hello all, I'm working on trying to grow my rental business and looking at different avenues for funding. 

Also be aware of Unrelated Business Income Tax (or UBIT) on leveraged real estate inside of an IRA.Or better yet, since you are self-employed - go with a truly self-directed Solo 401k plan, which would be a much better option and will help you avoid the UBIT on this investment.

How about using SDIRAs not to hold assets but to operate businesses?