Neighbors started bitching about dogs, calling animal control, and now trying to make it as hard as they can on me to breed.

Stay actively participating in the forums here and your real estate investing endeavors will go much smoother!

Does anyone on this forum not accept emotional support animals based on the fact that they own less than 4 rental homes?

His article linked below describes a "Self Directed Solo 401K"  Is he using this term as meaning the same thing as SDIRA, or it is another animal completely?

So you run those risks.In my mind this business is a business its not passive its not for someone just wanted to start out with a limited amount of funds.. at the end of the day I would guess many just lose all their invested capital over time trying to wrestle all the things that can and do go wrong and as Dion points out everyone is different animal. 

We have handled this situation for clients both ways and the CFK just makes things a lot smoother, quicker and less potential damage from angry tenants that might need the funds to move out anyway.

Investing in 2nds is a whole different animal with its own risks and exit strategies. 

@Andy MirzaThey are very state by state specific and where people get in trouble typically is not knowing state laws and understanding them as CFD’s are a completely different animal in some states.

You cannot buy a family member's or friend's property in a short sale, which is a legality set up to guard against fraud.Now if you meant instead that your parents have a contract on a short sale property that you'd like to take over/buy from them, that could be a different animal ... though I still don't think you'd be allowed to do it.And loans from private lenders are typically much shorter terms, nowhere near 30 years.

We knew what we were getting when we bought the property - well, the animal damage part; the Jekyll & Hyde behaviour at the end was just additional drama.