@Lisa Eisenhauer thank you for your detailed response Lisa.my hesitancy with titan is that they are a nigerian bank. and my hesitancy with solera is that the are pretty new small bank. given how small banks that have failed in the past, i feel more comfortable with going with someone like chase. here is list from fdic of recent failures: https://www.fdic.gov/resources/resolutions/bank-failures/fai...however, since i ran into problems with chase based on what i described in this post:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1150830-bank-...i wanted to know  who i can go with. so i called solera, firstly the person who picked up transferred me to an IRA LLC bank specialist. when my call go transferred, the specialist was i guess working from home and had a crying baby i could hear. that was my first uncomfortable momemt. i don't accept that from a bank. maybe a small retail company or something.secondly, i asked her if you know how an ira llc bank account is set up and i want to make sure it's set up correctly so i have some questions i'd like to understand your process. she right away asked me who is my document provider. and i was like, what is a document provider. she asked who set up your llc and i told her i did that. she said well we usually work with document provider because it's not a typical llc and is set up differently.i assured that the my llc is not an issue, i do  have that set up properly. it is manager managed. i am the manager. my ira is the 100% owner/member of it. then she assumed that my ira is with solera. and i told no, i have it at another custodian, all i want to do at solera is to set up a bank account. and what i want to know is when you open an account at your end, in the bank account who do you put as the owner of llc. she told me well it's a business account that llc owns. and you will be the manager on the account.and i told her, yes, i already know that and that's how it is currently set up at chase. the issue i am asking about is who will be listed as the owner of the llc at your end on the bank acct.. it should be "xyz custodian fbo shaz...IRA" and it should NOT be me. she goes. llc will be the bank owner.i think i had to repeat 3 times that i am  not asking whether or not bank accout will be under llc. i am asking in filling out your paperwork for opening the bank account, does it anywhere ask who is the owner of the llc and if so, who will you put. she goes, oh we dont' mention that anywhere but if you did have your ira with us then we will have "solera bank ..custodian fbo shaz...IRA". 

And then add in the typical appreciation of say 3 to 5% (of 500k).

I have found it is better to use a Broker if possible so they can shop companies, and shop every year vs using a captive agent that can typically only sell their company policies.While it is good to shop, not always good to go with the lowest possible provider on insurance. 

Typically they tend to cash flow well so a 4 unit might hit those 1% rule.I'd also highly recommend local real estate meetups, as you'll get local insights

Typically in commercial leases there is a non-compete clause.

@Ash Gowda - typically a 1.3-1.35 dscr.  5/7/10 (all dependent upon the lease term and re-ups); Rates fluctuate but for now from low to high 6's fixed.

@Elisha JohnstonFrom my experience, San Antonio is a great market for cash flow, with entry-level homes typically ranging from $200K to $250K and steady appreciation around 3-5% annually.

I have made a lot of money in RE and negative cash flow is not a criteria that i typically ponder.  

We typically do not lock our cars.  

Typical retail lots sold on the market for $55-60k a piece, an off market lot from a wholesaler usually come in around $45k a piece.