Ask about such things as how long they have been in business, are alternative assets their sole focus, are they BBB accredited and rated, are they a regulated financial institution, like a bank, have they ever been sanctioned by any regulatory bodies, how many alternative asset accounts do they custody and how much in assets do they administer, and so on.

You should make sure they can afford the payment.To keep this at arms length get a loan servicer, they will administer the loan, tax filings, notices, etc.

On another post, I read that it was a prohibited activity to self-administer the account, is that true?

I've administered well over 75,000 1031 Exchanges during my 30 year career, and I can tell you that most are not looking for bragging rights, they are just trying to defer their taxes.

In my experience in California, in virtually all (I can't remember one that didn't) of the wills the decedent stated the name of the Personal Representative and alternates, and stated it was the decedent's desire to have the estate administered under the Independent Administration of Estates act.

Mike, Solo 401(k) plan is easy to set up and administer, but the catch is you can only do that if you are self-employed or own a business without full time employees.

Research the option you want from the bank till you have a self administered masters degree in it.2.

The LLC may help a little if it is and has been properly created and properly administered but if someone dies or gets a serious injury, one way or another the LLC won't keep you completely out of harm's way. 

If you go behind her back and sell the property she can always file a "Amended" Notice of Petition to Administer Estate.

List of Reciprocal StatesPrerequisites: Have an active license in good standing in the reciprocal state;Passed a written examination in the reciprocal state at the time of obtaining your license;For Salesperson applicants - Sponsoring broker must have an “active” Connecticut broker license;All Applicants applying by reciprocity from the following states: Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio or applicants who have not taken a written examination in a reciprocal state will be required to take the State Portion of the Connecticut Real Estate Examination administered by PSI.