Wishing you the best on your success. 

Of course it is very important to do proper due diligence on the investment and the operator.As far as self-directed IRA there are number of companies offering such service, this topic has been discussed here on the forum many times so you should search using this keyword and learn from those discussions.

While we aren't very big we still want to keep a professional feel with all of tenants. 

Its much harder to turn a property around in 6 months expecting to have 100% of your money returned back to you - but if you focus on the right property focusing on highest and best use with an ADU add (like mentioned), in-fill/lot split, or other rehabs - then hopefully a semi-decent property like that will perform like a champ in a few years. 

While the interior is nice, the first-floor kitchen and bath are original from the 1940s.

What are the numbers?

The market in the area is dynamic and continually changing.

I would consider selling, i’m not necessarily saying you should, BUT only hold if you have a very strong belief in the appreciation of this property. 

Here in the USA you need what's called a "construction loan" and it's also very hard to find a company that will insure you if you're a newbie.

We were very clear that we were looking for strategies and why and it all sounded good in the initial interview.