I am using my self-directed IRA to purchase my half.

I would appreciate any feedback/recommendations, specifically from other out of state investors with direct experience.Thanks,Michael

I asked Mark how they were are finding their deals (direct mail, driving for dollars, etc) and he wouldn't give a straight answer and said something along the lines of "we just find them".

Find the most in-demand neighborhoods with the best schools and direct market to owners there or find a wholesaler to do it for you.Another option for you would be Florida if you like vacationing down there.

I wonder how much more could I have found if I'd just kept looking.I really didn't put enough time our effort into this to call this done, but I hope I got you thinking in a new direction.

So the owner would need to keep his insurance, and I would not pay that directly?

Hi David, thank you for this it is an interesting read and there is lots of good food for thought.But for me I am not a fan of Syndication, (yet) and I do believe that the main reason for this is the lack of direct control I end up having.I have ventured into Partnerships over the years and with the exception of the one I have with my wife, none of them worked well for me, I understand this is more than likely a result of my approach to them, so I am confident that I can make it work, to me its a matter of finding the right place, and after a lot of conversations about Memphis I have decided this is not where I want my first Large Apartment purchase to be.I am now going to expand my search into Texas and possibly other surrounding states to see what can be found.

In this scenario the owners insurance company will be dealing with your insurance company directly 

No direct experience, but what i've heard from friends is if you have to evict it's as simple as hauling their trailer out of the spot. 

I sent out my first direct mail campaign a few days ago and I made sure to include my Google voice number as the contact on the letters.