This is very subtle in terms of activation:(1) If H & W IRA simply decide to participate in a partnership so as to be able to purchase properties for rehab and sell (or rent), but no clear property has been identified at the time the partnership was formed, then enabling has not been triggered.(2) If H & W IRA have decided to partner together to complete an acquisition whether directly from the IRA's or through an entity, and either one of those IRA's cannot complete the transaction by themselves (i.e. having adequate cash, other assets that can be sold in a timely manner, getting a loan, transfers funds in to the IRA), then there is a potential for enabling to be triggered.Enabling an IRA by a disqualified party is a prohibited transaction and can cause the IRA to be disqualified.Do note that the situations I have described in (2) are only a small sampling and you have to document why a specific JV has not triggered enabling.

And just recently arrest records are now prohibited.  

It seems like the scent on the legal wind is that STR can only be prohibited when the minimum length of lease is specifically codified in municipal zoning laws or by covenant (i.e.

Sedona is partially in Coconino which had just passed vacation rental regulations when the legislature preempted and forbade such (A CITY OR TOWN MAY NOT PROHIBIT VACATION RENTALS ...)

Also, smoking is prohibited per the lease"Sorry to bother you but i meant to send this earlier today someone upstairs is smoking "pot" and i do not want my kids smelling it.

Only a brokerage type company like Quicken Loans or somebody might have an issue with the min loan amount because some states prohibit fees they can charge based on loan size and quicken might not be able to charge enough money to do a lower loan.

(NAR sought relief from the prohibition against balloon mortgages.)C2.

Is the aquisition cost, taxes, etc. prohibitively high now?

I love CA but agree with you that it's prohibitively expensive to buy here.

@William RickettIn addition to the self-directed IRA you may want to consider exploring solo 401(k).Following are the similarities and differences between the solo 401k and the self-directed IRA.The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k Similarities Both were created by congress for individuals to save for retirement;Both may be invested in alternative investments such as real estate, precious metals tax liens, promissory notes, private company shares, and stocks and mutual funds, to name a few;Both allow for Roth contributions;Both are subject to prohibited transaction rules;Both are subject to federal taxes at time of distribution;Both allow for checkbook control for placing alternative investments;Both may be invested in annuities;Both are protected from creditors;Both allow for nondeductible contributions;Both are prohibited from investing in assets listed under I.R.C. 408(m); andThe Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company (IRA LLC)  must be utilized;The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2016; the solo 401k contribution limit is $53,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.)