For example: we have a conference phone that allows several people to participate by phone in our meetings even if they can't be physically present.

My mentor always told me to listen listen listen to market participants.

The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company (IRA LLC) must be utilized;The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2016, the solo 401k contribution limit is $53,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.)

Its certainly a grey area, but if the agent is not participating in the negotiation between sponsor and capital, and is paid a percent on the value of the real estate (not the equity), then this should be OK in my opinion.

This way, anytime anyone talks about your area you will be notified and can jump in and participate. 

Then you can jump in and participate or just sit back and learn.

If there will be a Bay Area group gathering, I'd love to participate, as I too am interested in learning more about Notes.  

I think I would like to get her some money for any participation in this.

Lue C.If you have self-employment activity, you may want to consider a Solo 401k instead of an IRA.Contributions limits are roughly 10x higher, there is no custodial requirement for the 401k, you can take participant loans, you don't need the additional expense and administration of an LLC to have checkbook control, there is a built in-Roth component, a spouse can participate, there are additional tax benefits (UDFI exemption), there is generally greater privacy, and the plans are often quicker to setup and cost less money over time especially compared to most IRA LLCs.

I have just signed up for Cozy based on the reviews here as well as your teams active participation in the threads.