Let me address some of your questions about operating this type of setup.

Once you can answer these questions I highly recommend reaching out to an accountant willing to consult you to address these items and dive deeper into your tax situation. 

BTW, does anybody know WHERE self-directed IRA's are addressed in IRS publications?

I was able to get proof that my properties are on the up-and-up for lead levels, if I were to have had lead issues, it would have been a lot easier to address and remediate them while my properties are vacant vs occupied, and I'm protecting myself as an investor from potential headaches if the city does in fact start to enforce having this certification prior to evicting a tenant. 

First, does your lease address the issue, (such as in this example):  "Tenants will obey all local, regional, and federal laws or be subject to eviction."

I cannot run comps on property with inaccurate information, and I will not be able to determine the ARV to make a good offer.Did you verify that the seller is the owner and that the two of you are talking about the same address? 

If not, your own vacuum will contain bugs or their eggs, so make sure you address that. 

It serves many benefits for both buyers and sellers and if a law had been passed long ago that all such private transactions were required to be serviced through a thrid party, we would not have as much regulation addressing the issues we have today, specifically, the individual investors under the SAFE Act!

Included in this are the property's address, kind (commercial, single-family, or multi-family), and current market value.

Worst case, I can look up zoning changes and match the address with recent sales, however, if no permits were pulled I do not know if renovations occurred further increasing the value.