Sometimes sellers don't like "talking to those machines" (elderly folks who are old fashioned) or would trust a live voice instead of an answering machine.

If not, any other options, like self-direct IRA, may work in similar fashion?  

Ya know Devin, if you don't like a reply, feeling it's too short, simple, basic, you could do this weird old-fashioned thing called "ASK".   

If you are $10k short that’s different than $200kYes you will definitely want to get a private / hard money lender involved and see if they will fund it in this fashion.

I may be old fashion and I'm sure I am, but, as much as I like fancy technology like paying my bills on line, or buying all my stuff through Amazon, there is no way I want anyone touching my business transactions and bank account but ME !!

But perhaps I am missing something.If all goes as planned, we should be able to close in relatively short fashion.

Ideally the company  name should be beside or below your signature.Signing you name to documents in the appropriate fashion is one of the formalities you must follow to avoid and LLC being pierced.Keep in mind, you are always responsible for your own actions, even when done on behalf of the company.

Curious if the process actually takes that long, or if the county just doesn't enter the info online in a timely fashion.  

I've had great experiences with borrowers who understand we as brokers/lenders charge reasonable fees for the services we provide and they provided their documents in a timely fashion so the loans could proceed as scheduled.  

You may not purchase a property and pledge your IRA as collateral in any fashion,The IRA could purchase the property and obtain a non-recourse mortgage.