The basic rule of thumb has always been start close to home to get up close and personal exposure and understanding of the business of real estate investing.

I put Marvins on my house with exposure to the rain and no overhang and they are fine

You will typically get 15-20 years out of a standard 3-tab style strip shingle depending on pitch of roof and exposure to the sun, trees etc...Long story short, for a flip you may want to replace it to remove the roof as a potential negotiating point for the future buyer in trying to beat you up on price.

Split among 4 investors it is 312,500 capital exposure for a non-recourse loan versus dropping down 1,250,000.

@D'Andre Byers if it makes you feel any better on the kid front, I'm an ex-military person who had a couple of marriages when he was young, that didn't stick, then took another crack at it 4.5 years ago and a year later at the age of 35, found out I was going to be a dad (didn't think it was possible, based previously on "experience" and some exposure to certain stuff that limits those chances, in the course of duty).Regardless of the fact that I have a good job and income that supports us all comfortably, THAT is when I decided to start applying what I had been learning.

And it has to be a deal, I think a lot of people are so focused on the "I have XXX units " that they loose track of the fact that while maybe they have a lot of units they are not making enough money to cover the exposure they are taking on.

Please do note that the formation of the LLC does not limit the exposure to RMD, it is the distribution of the LLC membership to you individually is what eliminates the RMD.It is not a simple amendment to the LLC that will have to be done, you have to carryout the process of distribution from the 401K and 401K plan to file the appropriate documentation too.

My first question would be about your comfort level regarding legal exposure without the LLC (it can keep some folks up at night) as I also began as Steve mentioned with 6 units and $2 M in umbrella coverage & my attorney felt good with this strategy but I always wondered about it.

You may have to do that on a temporary basis for the Vacant Building.The two exposures, restaurants & Apartments are not ones that all Insurance companies like. 

An IRA is protected to varying degrees depending on state law in the other direction, such as you were to be involved in a personal lawsuit or bankruptcy.There are various mechanisms that can be deployed under the umbrella of a self-directed retirement plan to both avoid exposure to the California FTB and create asset protection/segregation.