If you feel that the overall mix of security and income production of a rental property will outperform what your IRA is generating today in conventional assets, then it is a good move. 

Part of me thinks a cheap solution could be skim coating the wood with some form of product to get it a bit smoother and then paint with a lower sheen.

• What are the average rents for the area (there are several online tools that can help you out with this)• What are the schools like in the area• Is the area primarily SFH, Multi-family or commercial? 

I've never used the BP calculator. 3% is less than two weeks and it is hard to turn a property that fast. 2007 is over 10 years old, that indicates an average repair rate to me, not a favorable one.

I wholesaled merchandise in the 1990's and needed to know a ton more about my product than my reseller clients. 

No FHA will be reasonably consistent as will most other loan products, the only thing you can expect to vary from lender to lender will be their fees and possibly the interest rate (but usually not by much). 

Another lender I know of just came out with a similar product.

Rentometer was giving rate of $1450/month, whereas average monthly rate (based on 10 rental properties of similar sq  ft and within 1-2 miles) was $1625/month based on HAR /Hotpads.

Sure individual markets could take a big hit (I'm looking at you Boston and SF), but I would be really surprised if the national averages took a hit like they did in 2008.

hello, my names john and I'm 19 years old. I will be buying a 4 plex through FHA this year and need some advice. I'm planning on putting down more then 3.5%, most likely 10-20% down. how long should the note be? I hav...