I will stick to the traditional investments nearby where I can see and touch them. 

Traditional mortgages are off the table for me, and seller financing doesn't seem to make sense, because then how would you do the 1031 exchange?

I know subject to's are risky but ours only took six months (we had to wait six months because of lending requirements but I have heard of people on BP getting around this) to put the deal into a traditional financing situation and we didn't have any problems with the seller's lender - had a good insurance agent that put insurance on the property without causing redflags with the seller's lender.  

I'd bet by the time you pay that loan off you will not be able to get a loan at 4% anymore.If you are a prudent investor you should be able to earn more than 4% elsewhere (SP traditionally has returned 6%, and is the most passive investment you can make) and as RE investors we certainly seek returns in excess of this, so don't worry about paying down that mortgage so quickly.

I've emailed two attorneys and they keep countering with nonsense like setting up a personal guarantee.My business is set up where we have nominees who get traditional loans. 

Michael,Hi, I think your best bet is to find a place that needs a bit of TLC like what Christian Vann mentioned.

It seems like this is hurting my options (no surprise) but I am being told it makes the idea of buying a home through non-traditional financing methods and then doing a cash-out refi impossible.

Is there any traditional way short of hard money to take down this property? 

Any IRA can be converted in self-directed: Roth, Traditional, SEP, etc.

What are costs of traditional sale 8%?