Alternatively the debtor can payoff the note either in full or at a negotiated discount.  

Alternatively i could go for being a real estate broker and try to get experience in actual real estate without putting too much of my own skin in the game.

Alternatively they can purchase a portfolio of occupied homes at a discounted price because the seller of the portfolio in most instances first tried their hand at selling the homes individually to the owner occupant and after experiencing 13-15% in disposition fees and expenses realized its not worth the effort and better to package the assets and sell discounted to another investor.Keep in mind, most of these SFH's are in stagnant markets meaning limited appreciation and if you ever took the time to look at an amortization schedule  there's no meaningful principal paydown for many years.

There could also be a change to the HOA by-laws eliminating the right to lease and alternatively if too many units are tenant occupied it could impact the warrantability of the financing which would be problematic if you wanted to sell the unit.

California's housing prices are too high for our budget, and I'm at a loss.I'm seeking your advice on alternative ways to use these funds for good.

An annuity is definitely a different level of risk exposure than this type of an alternative investment. 

Alternatively, you could explore house hacking with a multifamily duplex, where you live in one unit and rent out the others.

I plan to check them out although I don't think they can be competitive for lending against equity vs alternatives like IBKR.I will keep this thread posted as we navigate this in case others are interested.

I would look for a custodian who does not charge a fee based on your assets.I normally see the costs being A one time set-up fee along with an annual reoccuring fee.The thing you want when opening up an SDIRA is that the return that you will make with alternative investments will be greater than the fee that is charged to you for the SDIRA plus the return you would have likely gotten with a regular IRA.

So, successful agreements (those that “stand up” when tested in court) have the spouse without the assets receiving a significant lump sum in event of divorce,For smaller sums of money/assets alternatives to prenuptial agreements may serve the purpose best.