I have also spoken with two CPAs who don't think it is an issue so long as actual income is high enough about the 'reasonable salary' such that the tax savings are equal to or greater than the $2000ish annual costs of administrative maintenance (LLC expenses, payroll company, added filing expenses, etc.)Is anyone actually doing this who can shed a little light?

As @Chad Urbshott said, it should be fairly easy to determine any administrative/transfer fees.  

As Dale alluded above, the administration and service fees, combined with the CRA's requirement of a fair market interest rate (not too low, not too high, just right), typically make self-directed, non arms-length mortgages impractical ... especially in today's interest rate environment.

Virtual assistants can handle several tasks from lead management, appointment setting or scheduling, email management, to administrative tasks, personal assistance, etc.In my case, I have utilize the services of Virtual assistants for my SEO campaign - link building efforts, blog commenting, guest postings, etc. as well as handling my social media accounts.

I guess the difficult part of this is that they are not currently in probate therefore there is no executor or administrator... what can be done in this situation until I help them get the probate process started? 

I have been a zoning and building administrator for a number of years. 

In addition, there are marketing costs and usually a great deal of administrative work associated with answering emails, taking phone calls, handling rental agreements, etc.However, the best part, is that I can use them when they are vacant.

I would like to learn more about real estate investment and administration, with the ultimate goal of operating my own real estate business with rental properties and relationships to successfully be able to flip properties for solid profits.I understand that this isn't going to be a quick process and that is why I am trying to get started as early as possible.

I'm 20 years old, going to college for Business administration but I'm thinking about changing to Finance for investing purposes.

Compared to an IRA, Solo 401k contributions limits are roughly ten times higher.There is no custodial requirement for the 401k.You don't need the additional expense and administration of an LLC to have checkbook control.There is a built in-Roth component whereas IRAs are either traditional or Roth, not both.A spouse can also participate in the same Solo 401k plan.The Solo 401k has additional tax benefits over an IRA when investing into real estate using leverage.The penalties for prohibited transactions are less severe, though it's best not to utilize this benefit :)