It's a person's choice on where they land within that code, not a governmental directive or predetermined human destiny.  

Looking for the right opportunities not only for business but, for connecting with people who are moving in the same direction as I am trying to go.I am excited to be able to network with people who are willing to help each other. 

I'm sure you can save some money by donating your own labor so that might get your foot in the door.

So my husband and I have a combined $25,000 ($11,000 in mine, and about $14,000 in his) in old 401k's that I am looking to possibly use as down payments for rental properties in either a self-directed IRA or something where I have more control.

It sounds like you are headed in the right direction!

I work directly under my father who started our firm 35 years ago and they have somehow managed to survive multiple downturns as a small boutique firm.

If you have the money, i would do that plus add a metal z channel going opposite direction of the joists ( screwed on top of the existing plaster ) and then add another layer of drywall. the Z channel leaves a space that helps in sound transmission. the problem is the sound is transmitted through the existing floor joists too, so just the insulation will not do it because the joists are still against the ceiling. this is something similar, but in this picture they used clips in combination to hold off hat channel from the existing ceiling which will lower your ceiling about another inch. 

It also seems like you've set your sites on REI but don't know which direction to follow.

Find a good mortgage broker rather than dealing with the banks directly.

There must be five or six now.Part of the strategy on claiming CCA will depend on how you hold the property (i.e. directly in your name or via a corporation) and your planned length of hold.When you hold property in your own name, the CCA recapture upon disposition can hurdle you into another, sometimes substantially, higher tax bracket {BTW:  The recapture has an inclusion rate, in your income, of 100%; it is not taxed at 100% ;-) }.