I just got my first accepted offer on a buy and hold two unit house in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago.

Tell them to give you the seller financing you desire for the best price and highest interest rate you will accept and then sell the note to a note investor to remove them from the property entirely.

We will entertain JV deals and accept wholesale assignments where the numbers work and the deal is secure.With no presence in San Antonio, we obviously are not a fit for what you are looking for, but I wish you the best of luck.Continued success.

If your area doesn't license contractors I assume any legitimate company with the proper insurance to pull permits would be acceptable. 

If I would elect to accept that, I would be looking for a resort, like Vale, CO

I'm hoping the lease is good enough that it contains some mention about tenants taking care of the property.My lease specifically forbids pets and in a couple of cases where I did allow pets, the pet addendum states this:  "Tenant accepts full responsibility and liability for any and all damage, injury, or action arising from or caused by tenant's pet(s)." 

I know stability is fantastic, but I certainly don't want a bad situation that someone has just dealt with or someone who won't accept any rent increases.

You can setup a Solo 401k with a mainstream brokerage and use that for contributions, and the cost/admin overhead are much less than a self-directed plan.  

There are several things to consider here before accepting a blanket answer such as  is it better to lend than flip with an IRA.As a lender, the IRA is limited to normal rates of interest.  

Any others have examples of when mainstream marketing is slow??