The government encourages you to save for retirement because they don’t want to take care of you -so they help you protect qualified plans in a lot of cases. 

Lenders follow a set of fixed underwriting guidelines set by the federal government thru Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.   

I do see the tax free benefits of the Roth 401K, my issue with doing any real estate inside of a government retirement plan is that I cannot access my own funds without a penalty before I'm 59. 

PenFed and Navy Federal if you have connections to the government. 

@Dave Nixon Interesting you picked up on this...small town churches are dropping like flies...I manage large capital improvement projects on institutions...just keep in mind that you'll be working with a lot of different entities, including an architect/designer, engineer, industrial compliance...likely other entities from the government and/or municipality...lots of moving parts.You should be aware of Asbestos abatement and concerns like underground storage tanks...which are very common in all these buildings you are referencing...design and abatement fees may run hundreds of thousands of dollars before the project even starts...Not saying you can't pull it off, just be aware...good luck! 

Because of all the government buildings in Richland (USC, State Gov't, Local Gov't, Fort Jackson), the assessor has no choice other than to tax the landlords into oblivion.

If so, then the title is clear, absent any local government liens.If you mean you've obtained a Quiet Title order and it is final and non-appealable (42 days after the order is entered) then the title is clear.If you mean you can't find anybody who is still alive, the title is not clear. 

@Steve Vaughan the windows were a typo because the previous owner had them replaced through some type of government program like 7 years ago.

Water is collected by the city government and is billed directly to the owner of record.

Remember, the federal government does it's due diligence...this is a very structured process.