I thought in order to refi on an FHA to a traditional mortgage you need to have 20% in equity after refi but it appears once you hit 20% you can refi and pull all your equity out!

The deal may literally have to go in their name because of debt to income requirements from any traditional lender.  

I wanted to find an investment strategy that would provide more cashflow than a traditional long term rental, but I wanted it to be lower maintenance than a short term rental.

-I'd rather not go the traditional route with buying just because my W2 isn't exactly the most stable and i'm a full time college student.

Can I invest in a self directed Roth IRA or does it have to be traditional?

If this is your first time investing in 5+ MFH, you might be able to get a financing with a tradition DSCR lender as along as its not over 10 units.

They typically do these types of non-traditional house mortgages.

I often see investors pair a traditional LLC with a Series LLC to function in this capacity. 

I have an amazing investor lender that does DSCR, hard money, no money down fix and flip, and traditional loans as well. 

Their seller side commissions are half of what's usually standard in an area (1 - 1.5% vs. the traditional 3%) I know you're asking about FSBO but maybe Redfin could be a good middle ground for you.