@Mike Loy, As a realtor you qualify for a Solo 401k, which has many advantages over self-directed IRA, here are few:Contribute 10X more than into an IRA (up to $61,000 per year per participant)Access up to $50,000 from your retirement account tax-free and penalties-free at any time prior to retirement via participant loan featureExempt from UDFI tax on leveraged real estateInvest tax-free using Roth 401k sub-accountCheckbook control without use of an LLC Custodian is not required = no custodian, transaction or asset based feesYou can read it in more details here:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/2810/21298-sol...The bottom line is that if you qualify for Solo 401k - it would be way better than an IRA.

David Dawkins i am not in Florida but a lot of note investors chat on Facebook groups and participate in webinars etc. if you are interested I can point you to some Facebook groups that others run that I am a part of

A borrower must choose his or her own contractors to perform the needed renovation.All Contractors participating in the Renovation Program must complete a Contractor Profile Report.

The borrower can not buy the lien or participate in the tax auction but the lender can. 

I knew it was time to take my goals to the next level and felt BiggerPockets was the ideal community to begin learning from and participating in.

I am anxious to learn, participate and also help in any way that I can, again I am new and don’t know much but I will put forth an effort.

Also wondering if I'm taking on any legal risk by participating or not participating? 

Yes you can make contributions to the solo 401k while also participating in your day-time employer's 401k provided you have net self-employment income.

So no signed docs.You participated in the bidding thereafter?

Offering your contract at public auction, in my opinion is a great way to gererate interest and to expose the property.As a professional auctioneer - depending on what price you are in for and what you will accept as a net-equity profit - I would suggest a reserve public auction (you'll have more participants if you do an absolute auction).Not all auctioneers are good at marketing real estate - you'll need to interview them - you'll need to know the following:how much advertising money do they want up front to market the property, commission, time frame, how many real estate deals have they done, are they honest, will they do an assignment, are they respected in the community, where will they market your deal, get references, are they authorized to conduct real estate auctions?