Many people have Solo 401k plans for side businesses or part-time SE.

But Portland is not really a landlord per se market as it relates to BP because of price / rent ratios.. folks that buy here love it.. live here would no sooner go to Cleveland to be a landlord than go to the moon.. its a funny place in that regard..it certainly keeps portlandia Weird  as the saying goes. 

(Modern Real Estate Practice)So an IRS lien will not always win over others, but I believe Wayne is right in this case  - the buyer's IRS lien will be superior to the mortgage lien - not because it's the IRS per se, but because the filing date of the IRS action preceded the creation of the mortgage lien.

In fact if it cash flowed positive then that income could be subject to SE tax.

These are great responses...I'm currently sizing up 2 properties on Chicago's SE side.

Realtor /Investor here from the Chicagoland area and SE Wi.  

I hail from Tigard (just SE of Portland, still in metroplex), but recently bought a new primary residence with my wife in Lake Oswego's Mountain Park neighborhood.

While gun owners are not a protected class per se, I found some cases of tenants filing suit against HUD and other PHA that banned firearm ownership.

In your situation as you describe it I would look for high rents vs. purchase price, think fixers or the non-judicial foreclosures they sell on 5th and SE Hawthorn. 

The greater Fredericksburg area is on an upswing, per se.