Of course it is very important to do proper due diligence on the investment and the operator.As far as self-directed IRA there are number of companies offering such service, this topic has been discussed here on the forum many times so you should search using this keyword and learn from those discussions.

Of course there was offers to register for more courses and mentoring  and various up sells, but you will find that at any seminar. 

We charge 10% and we pride ourselves on quality service.

Years ago it was finding quality tenants.

Tempe and Scottsdale can be competitive, but Mesa and certain areas of Phoenix might offer better cash flow opportunities.

NAR Says - Existing home sales fall to lowest level in nearly 30 years and Median housing prices rose to a record high"The National Association of Realtors released data that showed existing home sales declined to the lowest level since 1995 last year, with 4.06 million homes sold on an annual basis.Meanwhile, the median home price median home price rose to a record high of $407,500 in 2024."

As you already know, the quality of the investor agent will speed up your learning curve, and save you money, time, and headaches. 

What would you do in my shoes I don’t invest there so take this with a slight grain of salt but I’ve heard multiple stories of basically this exact scenario someone getting offered a big payday for something in Cumberland, rejecting it & always for some reason (house burned down, block got worse, sheetz decided they actually didn’t want someone’s land for a car wash after all) always selling for like 10-20k and regretting not selling. 

Idk it could be me but nothing appraises high there.

Here's a https://www.irs.gov/businesses/cost-segregation-audit-technique-guide-chapter-4-principal-elements-of-a-quality-cost-segregation-study-and-report to the IRS website noting specific items that are included in the cost segregation study report. hmm, that website is a 404 error.