Is the 5 property ceiling (estimate, of course) because of debt to income ratio?

Leverage in an IRA will produce Unrelated Debt Financed Income (UDFI), subject to Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT).There are plenty of investment options to deploy your IRA funds, but again, using your IRA in connection with this transaction will disqualify your IRA. 

It combines the pride of owning a tangible asset with the potential for value growth.

Maybe they know the owners or were able to get the owners to let them see the inside.The process would be significantly improved if there was an expiration time for the owners to become current on the tax debt. 

This is even true for student debt.I recommend the old-school, proven technique of paying off all debt.

Combining these strategies often gives investors the best balance of cost, simplicity, and security.

@Muhammad KashifMost debt funds are equity only as they don’t take on leverage and are “cash only” when they acquire / lend on assets

Eliminate debt, establish a budget, and save.

You should refinance your long term debt into a DSCR loan and then do a heloc on your property.

Is having debt not reported on credit is your priority?