@Carrie ReymentRegarding the limits, perhaps they're referring strictly to the employee-deferral portion of 401k contributions without utilizing the employer-profit share contributions.

I take excellent care of my investment properties and keep them all leveraged.I would however use a LLC if I had employees otherwise I take the most advantageous approach for me to make money.

Duplexes were definitely allowed, but I know I was discriminated against by the employees running the program.  

So as of lately i just been working as an agent part time with the occasional buyer, mostly fellow employees from my current hospital job. 

Employees, investors, tenants, etc.And probably a lot more...

(Hell, I have a hard time finding good managers and I have 1500 units and 30 employees in Houston)I strongly STRONGLY suggest you rethink your strategy from the ground up.   

Go hire a California real estate attorney with experience going against HOAs and do it now.Also, was the deficit due to mismanagement of the HOA, or was it due to an employee stealing the money or from fraud?

The ICA also clearly spells out why the party being hired is not an employee for legal and tax purposes.Scope of Work DocumentThe Scope of Work provides a detailed list of all of the repairs that need to be completed on the project.

This is a decades long process if you don’t have say an engineering degree and start out working for a large developer as an employee.

In order to set up a self-directed 401k that allows you to invest in real estate, you must be self-employed with no full-time employees (i.e. working 1000 hours or more per year) working for your self-employed business or otherwise working for you.