OTOH, he warned against buying any property too near other properties you owned, since that could potentially convey benefits to your other properties.Converting to a Roth does not eliminate the disqualified persons or prohibited transaction rules.

Risk can be managed or even eliminated.

I would eliminate the practically useless agent by going direct to the homeowner.

Now my residence is appraised at 239k and it is fully paid off, BUT my wife and I have a deep wish to keep it debt free, which eliminates the amazing problem solving tool of simply having a 100k or so HELOC.

It is for elimination searches, so that those properties that make the cut can be more specifically analyzed.  

You can be the trustee of your own plan and eliminate the need for a third party trust company. 

I will be priming the walls as well with kiltz odor eliminating primer.

That's great, but you've just done THREE things that work against you: you've eliminated yourself from the radar of many buyers, you've limited the marketing on your property, and you've positioned yourself as a TARGET -- because you know who loves FSBO listings?

With a good lease and solid understanding of proper and thorough screening, you can eliminate 99% of the problems most landlords have proactively.

With 25% down you should have the option to not escrow taxes and insurance, which will eliminate 6 months or so of property taxes paid at closing to set up your escrow account.