I then take the first fully qualified applicant and proceed.

Every GP, real estate investor, makes mistakes, doesn't time the market perfectly etc, looking for the perfect is the enemy of the good. good REITs right now, take a look at ADC - agree realty, does multi-tenant triple net large shopping centers and has better growth outlook than Realty income-O-, 6% vrs 4%, which is also great company, both stand to benefit from low supply of retail space, last 5-10 yrs construction-wise, and thus better rents going forward, and interest rates should fall near term, lowering Cap rates and increasing underlying asset values and sales proceeds (only hold REITS in a tax-sheltered account, 401k or IRA, due to high taxation of the dividends-ordinary income) Good Luck

Then they proceeded to mention that they would not do the HELOC without taking possession of the first mortgage on the property.

However the Mortgage company told me that they will not proceed because the balance of the loan is 38k and since they cannot charge more than .05 percent, they wont do.

All cashflow after that will go directly to your bank account.When you make contributions from SDIRA on the other hand, you don't get to enjoy the cashflow and all profits right away since all proceeds go directly back into the IRA account and you end up paying taxes when you are ready to cash out.My question is what method do most investors prefer to go with when investing in syndications ? 

But if the proceeds of borrowing or of a refi on RE are used for non-RE (e.g. - to lend, buy BTC, buy notes, etc.), then the 401k pays UBIT like an IRA. 

I think to really figure this out is I need to add up all my expenses paid for 20 years, (negative) then add in all my rent proceeds (positive) and then ADD the equity and that is my 20 year return.

The wholesaler who has the portfolio has all of the properties tied to one contract, and due to some prior legal disputes, this contract is actually 3 years old and just received a judicial order allowing the buyer to proceed to closing.

Currently, when I include both refinance and sale proceeds, I get an unrealistic XIRR of 49%, while the average cash flow throughout the investment (7-year hold period) sat around 8%, and this seems incorrect to me. 

Could the Seller just pay some of the vendors through the net proceeds?