Many of the recipients are single mothers who actually want to find stable housing for themselves and their children so initially they are looking for the best house they can find and it is only when time is running out and their voucher is expiring (Yes that is a thing) that they begin lowering their standards and will settle for a cheaply put together home. 

But I think one of the best ways to use an IRA to buy real estate while minimizing fees is to partner with others so that you don't need any loan at all. another way I'm considering using my IRA for smaller initial investments is to invest in syndications like spark rental, where you can invest as little as $5,000 for each transaction.

It would cost less, initially, if a person kept it as four units and either rented the property out less of the time or not at all and kept it strictly as a vacation property.Any thoughts are appreciated

Use all of the proceeds and take a smaller loan initially. 

Also, I don't believe your investors are any more pleased knowing your CEO is pursuing other business initiatives when their is clearly some adversity in the RADD business preventing redemptions.

My initial research has been outside OKC, Killeen, TX, and maybe Ohio.

It has a higher initial cost (2~3k) but less maintenance over time with a longer warranty.

One friend of mine house hacked a duplex in Pittsburgh, initially making just $75/month after expenses.

I would still use quickbooks to track the finances in that account snd all rental associated finances (we use it to track are personal finances also). by the way it is worth the cost of paying someone good with quickbooks to do the initial setup.  

Most people I know start with low money down programs so they can get away with a initial capital investment of around $25k but you also need reserves.