There are a lot of newbie investors on these forums trying to access the world of real estate and it wasn't until I read all your posts that I understood a little bit more.  

Are there any improvements you can make that will raise the rent you can expect to get?

Not everyone will want to...and if they've done any improvements to the property they may not want to sell it for 80k or 90k...but you wont know until you contact them and ask.

Quick accessible cash when I need it for low interest rate that can be used over and over.  

Just to move the discussion along, I've checked a library close to me and relatively centrally located with easy access.

This is nice feature to be able to have access to your retirement funds tax-free and penalties free at any time (if you were to pull funds from the IRA you would be taxed and penalized if it was early distribution).

Are there any STR operators that are seeing dramatic improvements in their business by driving direct bookings? 

How can I wholesale the house if I don’t have access inside?

However, if you want access to the type of funding that allows for no/low cash to close you do need to learn how to recognize that type of deal, and so enrollment can be a great value.

The flip side of this coin is that you will not have access to this money until retired, and then you will be paying taxes on the money when taking it out.