@Matt K. agree on the car. my vehicle is paid off however I know it's a ticking time bomb before needing a repair.

At this point, the property feels like a forced savings vehicle for me.

Dave Ramsey and others like him are delightful and great starting points, but you will hopefully slowly graduate to more nuanced literature that teaches you how to employ more complex concepts and financial vehicles.

For example if the inheritance is in the form of a diversified stock portfolio consisting of blue chip stocks being managed by a trusted brokerage, she should leave it there and if anything divert dividend payments only to other investment vehicles she prefers or to pay off high interest debt, but not touch the principle.

I want to add a garage for personal use and resell value since I have the room in my backyard (double lot) and my drive way only holds 1 vehicle. 

Same with when I occasionally get gas in my vehicle using my company debit card... or occasionally run by staples or buy something off Amazon for my home office. 

You may want to consider that as an alternative retirement investment vehicle, it has number of advantages over an IRA LLC:Custodian is not required (eliminate all custodian fees)Get checkbook control without the need for an LLC (trust is used as a vehicle to hold 401k plan assets), you have full control over the plan assets as trusteeAvoid expensive CA Franchise tax of $800/yrExempt from UBIT on leveraged real estate Ability to take a personal loan from your 401k, any time, for any reasonContribution limits are 10X higher than an IRA (up to $61,000 for 2018)Tax-free investing using Roth sub-accountAbility to correct a prohibited transaction and moreRegarding your questions about getting a non-recourse loan: this is an asset-based loan so the age of an entity is irrelevant.

I think if you had to choose one, multi's act more like businesses so they better cater to investors but I don't think its fair to write off SFH as investment vehicles :)

But, we invest in real estate and it feels like it is just such a better vehicle for wealth.

I've heard that one of the motor companies was coming to revitalize the city, but am not sure if it's true.