The other is a smaller operation which does a lot of business in the specific neighborhood the house is in.  

I am actively expanding my STR consulting business!

Personally I think Josh himself is innocent but the company definitely is involved in shady and deceptive business practices.

Do they know real estate business and real estate taxation?

Ask yourself: do I really have the knowledge of real estate principles, real estate law and real estate finance; the network of contacts; the experience both in business in general and real estate in particular; the time available; and the analytical ability to compete against FULL TIME EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONALS to be successful in a field where the failure rate is so astronomically high?  

The majority of the business I do is buying small multi families and identifying the towns that are more favorable for investing. 

Many people choose NOT to have this, because the administrator will then vet every investment you make to ensure you do not invalidate your IRA.Invalidating your IRA means that you've done a prohibited transaction and the entire account is then deemed as distributed to you.If you don't want checkbook control, then I recommend a plan administrator such as Equity Trust - www.trustetc.comIf you are sure that you're aware of all the rules around prohibited transactions and disqualified people (who you can and can't do business with), then a plan administrator like Sense Financial would be a good place to start talking.  

and they're difficult to do, because you're up against businesses that do nothing but flip and BRRRR, and here you come along wanting to do 1 home run right out of the gate. 

Would your STR business even exist without Airbnb?  

Hi BiggerPockets community,excited to connect with like-minded individuals who are passionate about real estate investing.