The only benefit is no down payment, which to most doesn't end up being a benefit at all.The thing I did was save before I bought. 

Shawn, as a "disqualified person" to your IRA you are not allowed to receive any personal benefits (using investment as a residence) from your IRA.

Been thinking of a 1031 myself, and your thread highlights my biggest concern with it, buying into a bad deal just for the tax benefits.

However in terms of predicting “just how low” a downturn can go and making your adjustments now?

The benefit of presenting the property to HML first is he/she may be able to confirm if it's actually a deal or not.

@Justin Y.If to you "tax shelter" means any method of reducing taxable income, then you may be focused on the wrong reason to invest in residential rental real estate.There are three advantages to investing in rental property:  Appreciation, Cash flow, and Tax benefits. 

For example, if we sell, he won't just get the initial money back, but it will be CPI-adjusted.

Im gonna search this thread to see if anyone can make a good recommendation.brent Coombs, Thank you as well, I could not agree more, Im gonna start with one deal work it under my LLC, as I grow I will make the necessary adjustments to the business as needed.

One major benefit from that will also be the ability to utilize one management company and if you ever do visit the properties it is an easier process.

Thought I would share a success story regarding getting an appraised value adjusted with success.