A friend of mine recommended this site after we had a discussion about how ripe the local market is and I've been hooked on the podcasts in recent weeks and am soon to be equally engaged on the forums, as well as, reading the blog posts. 

If you can come to terms with a Seller, you definitely want to engage either a title company and/or a real estate lawyer to ensure the transaction is executed correctly, the deed, deed of trust and promissory note are all drawn up correctly and filed so that both parties are protected

@Andrew Fredrickson, Quick question for you...when you say "Engage more on the BP forums," as a newer and inexperienced investor, I have a hard time feeling like I can contribute much to a post, and I don't always want to pose questions.

Good morning, giving this thread a quick bump as I am trying to engage in more feedback!

All transactions that your IRA engages in must be "arms length" (no personal involvement).

Engage with others, and magic will happen

You cant have construction drawings unless you have a civil engineering company with you and you cant have a engineering company with you unless you have a property under contract ..So, i would put that property under contract and then start engaging an architect to get a layout/construction drawings and once that is completed .. close on the land .. 

I typically suggest my clients engage a land development specialist to assist with this process. 

Contrary to many of the so-called "Gurus", wholesaling, In my opinion, is not something an inexperienced person should engage in.

You can tie multiple properties and activities together to meet this test, but that alone won't necessarily allow you to turn passive losses into active, it merely changes the presumption that they are passive2nd bar:  You have to show you are actively engaged in rental activity/property management for at least 500 hours in the year.