I've gained a buyer lead and their criteria is...."

With that knowledge, I was able to confidently invest in a SFH that only needed minor repairs to become rentable, to gain immediate cash flow, as I waited for the market to appreciate.The goal was to buy and sell within one year.Breakdown: Purchase date: 6/30/2017 Listed: $60,000 Under Contract (as the Buyer): $55,000 Acquisition Price: $46,250 Renovation Cost: $1,955 Total investment: $48,205 Ten months after the purchase, we are under contract on the selling side at $65,000.

As for getting PM experience, you don't need PM experience if you plan on living in 1 unit and renting the other 3 out, you'll gain that as you go through the ownership process.

Which have been the most valuable for you and why? 

Also note that any reimbursement from insurance will affect if you have a loss (or potentially a gain). 

Barf.I’m trying to think about the long-term gain of a great property, not the short-term loss on cash flow.

We also have a rental home we are wanting to sell and am wondering if the cost of building out a 1 bedroom 1 bath apartment complete with kitchen and living area would qualify to offset some of the capital gains when we sell our rental in the coming month? 

Second question, Should I go toward the top of my budget (qualified at $260,000 and currently looking at properties near that amount) at the start, or should I scale back and do a smaller property a little further away to test the waters and gain some experience with finding and managing tenants, but will allow me to easily afford the mortgage in the event of vacancy.Any advice, or criticism, would be greatly appreciated.

So, if your Self Directed IRA is 75% partner with another entity, then it must collect 75% of the profit (rental income, sold gains, etc), it must also contribute 75% of the expenses (rehab, insurance, taxes, etc).I am not sure about loaning to a partner. 

in addition to above, (good advice), you dont have to pay capital gains tax on this when you sell if it appreciated in value but only because you lived there. if you turn it into a rental, you will be on the hook for capital gains tax